Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Launceston, Tasmania, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Launceston Airport (LST), Launceston, Tasmania, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,983 miles (or 14,457 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 Launceston 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 Launceston 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.
• 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 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Launceston Airport (LST):

• The redeveloped terminal was officially opened on 12 March 2010 by the Premier of Tasmania, the Hon.
• Because of Launceston Airport's relatively low elevation of 562 feet, planes can take off or land at Launceston 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.
• Virgin Australia currently has up to four daily flights from Melbourne and one from Sydney.
• From August 1940 until late 1944, the airport used by the Royal Australian Air Force as a base for No.
• The furthest airport from Launceston Airport (LST) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to Launceston Airport (meaning Launceston Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,280 miles (19,763 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Launceston Airport (LST) is George Town Aerodrome (GEE), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) NNW of LST.
• Launceston Airport (LST) has 3 runways.