Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sardeh Band, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sardeh Band Airport (SBF), Sardeh Band, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,059 miles (or 11,360 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 Sardeh Band 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 Sardeh Band 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):

• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Sardeh Band Airport (SBF):

• Though the airstrip is still evident against the surrounding desert, it has not been maintained since Russian military Forces withdrew from Afghanistan and there are no structures to support it.
• Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,996 miles (19,306 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Sardeh Band Airport", other names for SBF include "Sardeh Band Airport (Sardeh Band)" and "Band E Sardeh Dam Airport".
• The closest airport to Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Ghazni Airport (GZI), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of SBF.
• Because of Sardeh Band Airport's high elevation of 6,971 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SBF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SBF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.