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):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

Facts about Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH):

• The closest airport to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is Yiwu Airport (YIW), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) SSW of HGH.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport handled 22,114,103 passengers last year.
• Phase Two of the airport expansion project began construction on 8 November 2007.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) has 2 runways.
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the principal airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of Zhejiang Province, China.
• 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".
• The apron occupies 340,000 square metres of land, and there are 12 jetways and 18 departure gates.
• On the evening of 9 July 2010, the airport was shut down for an hour when an unidentified flying object was detected.
• Bus services to/from downtown Hangzhou originate/terminate at the Ticketing Office on Tiyuchang Road with intermediate stops in between.
• 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.
• 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.