Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jieyang / Shantou / Chaozhou, Guangdong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA), Jieyang / Shantou / Chaozhou, Guangdong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,132 miles (or 11,477 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 Jieyang Chaoshan 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 Jieyang Chaoshan 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):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA):

• The furthest airport from Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA) is Orán Airport (ORA), which is nearly antipodal to Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (meaning Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Orán Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Orán, Salta Province, Argentina.
• The city of Shantou was formerly served by Shantou Waisha Airport, a dual-use military and civil airport.
• The closest airport to Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA) is Meixian Airport (MXZ), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) NNW of SWA.
• Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport", other names for SWA include "揭阳潮汕机场" and "Jiēyáng Cháoshàn Jīchǎng".
• The airport covers an area of 55,000 square metres and 12 jetways with the passenger terminal divided into two, with the domestic terminal on one side and the international on the other.
• Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport handled 2,686,007 passengers last year.