Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hargeisa, Somalia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA), Hargeisa, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,198 miles (or 13,193 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 Hargeisa Egal 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 Hargeisa Egal 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):

• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA):

• In 2012, the airport's routes were temporarily suspended as its runway underwent major renovations, funded by the Somaliland authorities, Kuwait Fund and USAID.
• During the events leading up to the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, the airport's infrastructure was significantly damaged.
• Originally a small facility built during the colonial period, the former Hargeisa International Airport was expanded and modernized in the 1980s by the Siad Barre administration so as to accommodate larger aircraft and offer more flight destinations.
• The closest airport to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Borama Airport (BXX), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of HGA.
• Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hargeisa Egal International Airport's high elevation of 4,423 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HGA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HGA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (meaning Hargeisa Egal International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,225 miles (19,674 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.