Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Haikou, Hainan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), Haikou, Hainan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,528 miles (or 12,115 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 Haikou Meilan International 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 Haikou Meilan International 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.

Facts about Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK):

• The closest airport to Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) N of HAK.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport handled 10,167,818 passengers last year.
• The airport terminal has 60,200 square metres of space, with 45 check-in counters and 11 security checkpoints.
• Because of Haikou Meilan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Haikou Meilan International 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.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The nearby Meilan Airport Railway Station is served by Hainan Eastern Ring Railway.
• The furthest airport from Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), which is nearly antipodal to Haikou Meilan International Airport (meaning Haikou Meilan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diego Aracena International Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Iquique, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Haikou Meilan International Airport", other names for HAK include "海口美兰国际机场", "Hǎikǒu Měilán Guójì Jīchǎng" and "ZJHK[1]".