Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shenyang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE), Shenyang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,846 miles (or 9,407 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 Shenyang Taoxian 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 Shenyang Taoxian 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):

• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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 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 AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE):

• Shenyang Taoxian International Airport handled 8,619,897 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE) is Anshan Teng'ao Airport (AOG), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SW of SHE.
• Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE) is Miramar Airport (MJR), which is nearly antipodal to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (meaning Shenyang Taoxian International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Miramar Airport), and is located 12,190 miles (19,618 kilometers) away in Miramar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Because of Shenyang Taoxian International Airport's relatively low elevation of 197 feet, planes can take off or land at Shenyang Taoxian 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shenyang Taoxian International Airport", other names for SHE include "沈阳桃仙国际机场" and "Shěnyáng Táoxiān Guójì Jīchǎng".