Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dargaville, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), Dargaville, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,585 miles (or 12,206 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 Dargaville Aerodrome, 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 Dargaville Aerodrome. 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 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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".
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR):

• It is a base for topdressing aircraft working the surrounding area, and has Avgas available with a Mobil swipecard.
• Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Dargaville Aerodrome (meaning Dargaville Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,419 miles (19,986 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
• Because of Dargaville Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 635 feet, planes can take off or land at Dargaville Aerodrome 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.
• Dargaville Aerodrome is a small airport located 1 Nautical Mile southeast of Dargaville township in Northland, New Zealand.
• The airfield has an active aero club which provides training in advanced microlight and a Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft, and has a regular 'fly-in' lunch once a week that attracts aviators from New Zealand's North island.
• The closest airport to Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ENE of DGR.