Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jinchang, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC), Jinchang, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,507 miles (or 10,473 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 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 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.

Facts about Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC):

• The closest airport to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport (RHT), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) NW of JIC.
• Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (meaning Jinchang Jinchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,180 miles (19,602 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Jinchang Jinchuan Airport", other names for JIC include "金昌金川机场" and "Jīnchāng Jīnchuān Jīchǎng".