Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Yamagata, Honshū, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Yamagata Airport (GAJ), Yamagata, Honshū, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,496 miles (or 8,845 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 Yamagata 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 Yamagata 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.

Facts about Yamagata Airport (GAJ):

• The furthest airport from Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,606 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Sendai Airport (SDJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of GAJ.
• The airport has had no scheduled ground transportation services since April 2009 due to depressed passenger numbers.
• Yamagata Airport (GAJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Yamagata Airport's relatively low elevation of 345 feet, planes can take off or land at Yamagata 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.
• In addition to being known as "Yamagata Airport", another name for GAJ is "山形空港".