Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ebadon Airstrip (EBN), Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,760 miles (or 9,270 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 Ebadon Airstrip, 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 Ebadon Airstrip. 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):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ebadon Airstrip (EBN):

• Ebeye is not part of the Reagan Test Site.
• Nell has a unique convergence of protected channels and small islands.
• Because of Ebadon Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ebadon Airstrip 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.
• On January 31, 1944, the 7th Infantry Division, spearheaded by the 111th Infantry Regiment performed an amphibious assault on Kwajalein.
• The atoll lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, at 8°43′N 167°44′E / 8.717°N 167.733°E / 8.717.
• The furthest airport from Ebadon Airstrip (EBN) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Ebadon Airstrip (meaning Ebadon Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,282 miles (19,767 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• The islands of the atoll, particularly the main island, served as a rural copra-trading outpost administered by Japanese civilians under the Japanese Mandated "South Seas" Islands of Micronesia for twenty-two years.
• The closest airport to Ebadon Airstrip (EBN) is Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) NNW of EBN.