Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shizuoka Airport (FSZ), Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,765 miles (or 9,279 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 Shizuoka 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 Shizuoka 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 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.

Facts about Shizuoka Airport (FSZ):

• In addition to being known as "Shizuoka Airport", other names for FSZ include "静岡空港" and "Shizuoka Kūkō".
• The closest railway station is Kanaya Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Ōigawa Main Line.
• Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Shizuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Shizuoka 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 Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) is Nagoya Airfield (NKM), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of FSZ.
• The airport is located in Makinohara and Shimada.
• The furthest airport from Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.