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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), Hangzhou, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,611 miles (or 10,639 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 Hangzhou Xiaoshan 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 Hangzhou Xiaoshan 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH):

• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) has 2 runways.
• In 2013, Hangzhou airport handled 22,114,103 passengers, which ranked 10th in terms of passenger traffic in China.
• The furthest airport from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (meaning Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport", other names for HGH include "杭州萧山国际机场" and "Hángzhōu Xiāoshān Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Maintenance facilities are certified to perform B-Check on all types of aircraft and C-Check on Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 aircraft.
• The airport was a hub of CNAC Zhejiang.
• The airport has service to destinations throughout China.
• Taxi between the airport and downtown Hangzhou costs between ¥100 to ¥160.
• On the evening of 9 July 2010, the airport was shut down for an hour when an unidentified flying object was detected.
• Phase One of the airport occupies 7,260 acres of land.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport handled 22,114,103 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is Yiwu Airport (YIW), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) SSW of HGH.
• Because of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Hangzhou Xiaoshan 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.
• The airport was planned to be constructed in three phases.