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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lihue Airport (LIH), Lihue, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,519 miles (or 5,664 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 Lihue 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 Lihue 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 AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.

Facts about Lihue Airport (LIH):

• Lihue Airport handled 2,416,812 passengers last year.
• Lihue Airport (LIH) has 2 runways.
• Lihue Airport covers an area of 879 acres at an elevation of 153 feet above mean sea level.
• The airport is the primary gateway to Kauai for visitors, and has several rental car facilities.
• Because of Lihue Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Lihue 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.
• The airport does not serve as a hub for any airline carrier.
• The furthest airport from Lihue Airport (LIH) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Lihue Airport (meaning Lihue Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• The closest airport to Lihue Airport (LIH) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNW of LIH.