Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Apia, Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fagali'i Airport (FGI), Apia, Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,875 miles (or 9,454 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 Fagali'i 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 Fagali'i 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):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.

Facts about Fagali'i Airport (FGI):

• On 1 July 2009, Polynesian Airlines reopened Fagali'i airport and resumed a service that included international flights to Pago Pago, American Samoa.
• Fagali'i Airport (FGI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Fagali'i Airport (meaning Fagali'i Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,388 miles (19,936 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Rumours have since re-surfaced within the aviation community regarding the possibility of having the airstrip re-opened as the country's flag carrier has since downsized to 2 Turboprop DHC 6 Twin Otter aircraft and single BN2 Britten-Norman Islander.
• The closest airport to Fagali'i Airport (FGI) is Faleolo International Airport (APW), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of FGI.