Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lilongwe, Malawi:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport (LLW), Lilongwe, Malawi would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,149 miles (or 14,724 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 Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International 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 Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International 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):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport (LLW):

• The closest airport to Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) is Salima Airport (LMB), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) E of LLW.
• Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport handled 296,190 passengers last year.
• Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,724 miles (18,867 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Lilongwe International Airport Kamuzu International Airport's high elevation of 4,035 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LLW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LLW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.