Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC), Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,395 miles (or 11,901 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 Cape Gloucester 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 Cape Gloucester 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):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.

Facts about Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC):

• Construction of Cape Gloucester Airport originally began in 1942 by the Australians.
• Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Finschhafen Airport (FIN), which is located 90 miles (144 kilometers) SSW of CGC.
• The furthest airport from Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,791 miles (18,975 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Cape Gloucester was later developed as an American and an Australian air base but it was never a particularly significant one.
• Because of Cape Gloucester Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Gloucester 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.
• In addition to being known as "Cape Gloucester Airport", other names for CGC include "CPG" and "Cape Gloucester Airport".