Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hateruma, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hateruma Airport (HTR), Hateruma, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,870 miles (or 11,057 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 Hateruma 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 Hateruma 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):

• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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".
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.

Facts about Hateruma Airport (HTR):

• The closest airport to Hateruma Airport (HTR) is Ishigaki Airport (ISG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NE of HTR.
• Because of Hateruma Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Hateruma 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.
• In addition to being known as "Hateruma Airport", other names for HTR include "波照間空港" and "Hateruma Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Hateruma Airport (HTR) is Dr. Augusto Roberto Fuster International Airport (PJC), which is nearly antipodal to Hateruma Airport (meaning Hateruma Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dr. Augusto Roberto Fuster International Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,853 kilometers) away in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay.
• Hateruma Airport (HTR) currently has only 1 runway.