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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Nagoya Airfield (NKM), Nagoya, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,786 miles (or 9,311 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 Nagoya Airfield, 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 Nagoya Airfield. 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):

• 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 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• 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 Nagoya Airfield (NKM):

• The closest airport to Nagoya Airfield (NKM) is Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of NKM.
• Nagoya Airfield (NKM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Nagoya Airport was opened in 1944 as a military airport named Kamake Airfield, it was attacked on several occasions in 1944 and 1945 by USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombing raids.
• The furthest airport from Nagoya Airfield (NKM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,870 miles (19,103 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• After the Armistice in South Korea which ended combat, the 49th Fighter Group moved to Nagoya Air Base with F-84 Thunderjets.
• In addition to being known as "Nagoya Airfield", other names for NKM include "名古屋飛行場" and "Nagoya Hikōjō".
• Since the opening of Kansai International Airport in 1994, the airport's main traffic source has been the nearby automotive and manufacturing industries, causing carriers such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines ) to stop flying to Nagoya.
• Because of Nagoya Airfield's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Nagoya Airfield 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.
• Nagoya Airfield, also known as Komaki Airport, is an airport which lies within the local government areas of Toyoyama, Komaki, Kasugai and Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.