Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Perth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Perth Airport (PER), Perth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,177 miles (or 16,378 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 Perth 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 Perth 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Perth Airport (PER):

• The domestic and international terminals are located separately, 11 km apart, and connected by a road – Dunreath Drive – an internal road connection within the airport boundaries.
• Perth Airport handled 13,664,394 passengers last year.
• Because of Perth Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Perth 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 furthest airport from Perth Airport (PER) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Perth Airport (meaning Perth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,938 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
• Perth Airport (PER) has 2 runways.
• Full civilian operations at the Guildford Aerodrome commenced in 1944.
• It was at this time the airport began to experience the full effects of the jet age.
• The closest airport to Perth Airport (PER) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of PER.
• From 1962 onwards, both the domestic and international passenger operations at the airport were provided by a single terminal.
• Upon completion, the terminal was able to process up to five Boeing 747 aircraft per hour and accommodated a peak passenger volume of 6,000 passengers per hour.