Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hervey Bay Airport (HVB), Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,090 miles (or 13,019 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 Hervey Bay 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 Hervey Bay 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 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 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Hervey Bay Airport (HVB):

• The closest airport to Hervey Bay Airport (HVB) is Maryborough Airport (MBH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SW of HVB.
• The furthest airport from Hervey Bay Airport (HVB) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,861 miles (19,088 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Hervey Bay Airport (HVB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Hervey Bay Airport was ranked 38th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Hervey Bay Airport is the main airport for the city of Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia and the Fraser Coast region which incorporates the nearby cities of Maryborough and Bundaberg.
• Because of Hervey Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Hervey Bay 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.
• Up until September 2006, Sunshine Express Airlines provided daily services to the airport from Brisbane.