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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB), Harbin, Heilongjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,539 miles (or 8,914 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 Harbin Taiping 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 Harbin Taiping 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB):

• In addition to being known as "Harbin Taiping International Airport", other names for HRB include "哈尔滨太平国际机场" and "Hā'ěrbīn Tàipíng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Harbin Taiping International Airport's relatively low elevation of 456 feet, planes can take off or land at Harbin Taiping 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 furthest airport from Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,980 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB) is Daqing Sartu Airport (DQA), which is located 83 miles (133 kilometers) NW of HRB.
• Harbin Taiping International Airport handled 7,259,498 passengers last year.
• Harbin Taiping Airport, formerly known as Yanjiagang Airport, is located about 37 kilometres southwest of the city of Harbin and was constructed in 1979 with further expansion between 1994 and 1997 at a cost of $960 million RMB.