Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Caloundra, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Caloundra Airport (CUD), Caloundra, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,142 miles (or 13,103 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 Caloundra 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 Caloundra 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):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.

Facts about Caloundra Airport (CUD):

• Caloundra Airport (CUD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Caloundra Airport (CUD) is Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of CUD.
• Because of Caloundra Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Caloundra 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.
• The Queensland Air Museum was established in 1973, moving to a permanent facility at Caloundra Airport on 14 June 1986 at the invitation of the Landsborough Shire Council.
• The furthest airport from Caloundra Airport (CUD) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Caloundra airport has two sealed runways, 795 m × 18 m.