Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Komatsu Airport (KMQ), Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,742 miles (or 9,242 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 Komatsu 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 Komatsu 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.

Facts about Komatsu Airport (KMQ):

• The furthest airport from Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The airport has a single passenger terminal building serving domestic and international flights.
• Because of Komatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Komatsu 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.
• Komatsu Airport (KMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Fukui Airport (FKJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) SSW of KMQ.
• In addition to being known as "Komatsu Airport", other names for KMQ include "小松飛行場" and "Komatsu Hikōjō".
• Ishikawa Prefecture set aside funds for an airport promotion committee in 2012 amid expectations that the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015 would impact traffic on the Komatsu-Tokyo route.