Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kashgar, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kashgar Airport (KHG), Kashgar, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,654 miles (or 10,709 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 Kashgar 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 Kashgar 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's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.

Facts about Kashgar Airport (KHG):

• The closest airport to Kashgar Airport (KHG) is Osh International Airport (OSS), which is located 186 miles (299 kilometers) WNW of KHG.
• Kashgar Airport (KHG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kashgar Airport (KHG) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,526 miles (18,550 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Kashgar Airport", other names for KHG include "喀什机场" and "Kāshí Jīchǎng".
• Because of Kashgar Airport's high elevation of 4,529 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KHG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KHG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.