Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB), Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,660 miles (or 12,328 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Mactan-Cebu International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB):

• The furthest airport from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport (AFL), which is nearly antipodal to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (meaning Mactan-Cebu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Piloto Osvaldo Marques Dias Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,964 kilometers) away in Alta Floresta, Brazil.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mactan-Cebu International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Mactan-Cebu International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport handled 6,050,564 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Mactan-Cebu International Airport", another name for CEB is "Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan-SugboPaliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan-Cebu".
• On April 23, 2014, the Department of Transportation and Communications awarded the operations and maintenance of MCIA to a consortium of the Philippine Megawide Construction Corporation and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure.
• Mactan-Cebu International Airport located in Central Visayas region, is the second busiest airport of the Philippines and one of the top 20 airports in the ASEAN region in 2011.
• In 2010, the newly elected Philippine President, Benigno Aquino III selected Nigel Paul Villarete as the new General Manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Chief Executive Officer of MCIAA.
• The closest airport to Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) is Tagbilaran Airport (TAG), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) S of CEB.