Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to CMU:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- CMU Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about CMU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to CMU
- List of Nearest Airports to CMU
- Map of Furthest Airports from CMU
- List of Furthest Airports from CMU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Chimbu Airport (CMU), Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,591 miles (or 12,217 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 Chimbu 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 Chimbu Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CMU / AYCH |
Airport Name: | Chimbu Airport |
Location: | Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°1'27"S by 144°58'13"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4974 feet (1,516 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CMU |
More Information: | CMU Maps & Info |
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 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.
- On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
- 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.
Facts about Chimbu Airport (CMU):
- Chimbu Airport (CMU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Goroka Airport (GKA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of CMU.
- Because of Chimbu Airport's high elevation of 4,974 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CMU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CMU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,731 miles (18,879 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.