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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dunedin International Airport (DUD), Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,164 miles (or 13,139 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 Dunedin 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 Dunedin 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):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about Dunedin International Airport (DUD):

• The furthest airport from Dunedin International Airport (DUD) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Dunedin International Airport (meaning Dunedin International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,242 miles (19,702 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Because of Dunedin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Dunedin 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.
• The closest airport to Dunedin International Airport (DUD) is Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR), which is located 64 miles (102 kilometers) NW of DUD.
• Dunedin International Airport, colloquially known as Momona Airport, is an international airport in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, serving Dunedin city and the Otago and Southland regions.
• Dunedin International Airport (DUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2009, Dunedin International Airport Limited announced it had the land and consent to extend the runway from 1900m to 2400m, at a cost of NZ$20 million.