Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE), Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,389 miles (or 13,501 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 Groote Eylandt 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 Groote Eylandt 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE):

• Because of Groote Eylandt Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Groote Eylandt 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 Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) is Lake Evella Airport (LEL), which is located 111 miles (179 kilometers) NNW of GTE.
• Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,564 miles (18,611 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.