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 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 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.

Facts about Hervey Bay Airport (HVB):

• 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.
• In 2006, the airport was the fastest growing in Queensland with passenger numbers almost doubling.
• The new airport, which is located 5 nautical miles southeast of Pialba, opened in mid-2005, after the existing airfield underwent an $11.5 million upgrade which included the construction of a new terminal building and the extension of the existing 1,500 m runway to 2,000 m to accommodate jet services from Virgin Australia.
• 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 was ranked 38th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Hervey Bay Airport (HVB) currently has only 1 runway.