Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lahaina, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kapalua Airport (JHM), Lahaina, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,434 miles (or 5,526 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 Kapalua 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 Kapalua 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.

Facts about Kapalua Airport (JHM):

• Kapalua Airport (JHM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kapalua Airport (JHM) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kapalua Airport (meaning Kapalua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• The closest airport to Kapalua Airport (JHM) is Kahului Airport (OGG), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of JHM.
• JTB Hawaii, an affiliate company of Japanese travel agent JTB Corporation, operates its customer service outlet located in the lobby.
• Named for the Kapalua Resort a few miles to the north, the airport replaced the Kaanapali Airport, which had an even shorter runway, in 1987 to allow valuable coastal land to be developed.
• Because of Kapalua Airport's relatively low elevation of 256 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapalua 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.