Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Da Nang, Vietnam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD), Da Nang, Vietnam would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,834 miles (or 12,608 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 Đà Nẵng 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 Đà Nẵng 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):

• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

Facts about Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD):

• The furthest airport from Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD) is Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP), which is nearly antipodal to Đà Nẵng International Airport (meaning Đà Nẵng International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rodríguez Ballón International Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,975 kilometers) away in Arequipa, Peru.
• The closest airport to Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD) is Phu Bai International Airport (HUI), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) NW of DAD.
• In addition to being known as "Đà Nẵng International Airport", another name for DAD is "Sân bay Quốc tế Đà Nẵng".
• Because of Đà Nẵng International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Đà Nẵng 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.
• In addition to its civil aviation, the runway is shared with the Vietnamese People's Air Force, although military activities are now extremely limited.
• Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia.
• During the year 2006, Da Nang Airport counted one million passengers annually, the first time since 1975 it had reached this level.
• After the war, the facility was used by the French Air Force during the French Indochina War.
• In 1955, the newly established Republic of Vietnam Air Force inherited from the French a token force of fifty-eight aircraft.
• TransAsia Airways started service between Taipei and Da Nang in December 2009, and China Southern Airlines began service between Guangzhou and Da Nang in January 2010.
• Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD) has 2 runways.