Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Batu Berendam, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Melaka International Airport (MKZ), Batu Berendam, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,869 miles (or 14,273 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 Melaka 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 Melaka 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):

• In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
• 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 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".
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.

Facts about Melaka International Airport (MKZ):

• The closest airport to Melaka International Airport (MKZ) is Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) NW of MKZ.
• Melaka International Airport handled 34,355 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Melaka International Airport (MKZ) is Col. Edmundo Carvajal Airport (XMS), which is nearly antipodal to Melaka International Airport (meaning Melaka International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Col. Edmundo Carvajal Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Macas, Ecuador.
• In addition to being known as "Melaka International Airport", another name for MKZ is "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Melaka".
• Because of Melaka International Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Melaka International 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 and particularly its control tower bears historical significance as it was the same tower which guided the plane of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, to land from London on 20 February 1956.
• Melaka International Airport (MKZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is also used as the base of the Malaysian Flying Academy, which has been operating out of the airport since 1987.