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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,266 miles (or 11,694 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 Shenzhen Bao'an 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 Shenzhen Bao'an 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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.

Facts about Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX):

• The main building's third floor is the waiting area for domestic and international flights, which depart from the east wing.
• A and B check-in areas are for China Southern Airlines.
• Because of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Shenzhen Bao'an 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.
• The closest airport to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) is Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) SSE of SZX.
• The furthest airport from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) is Bermejo Airport (BJO), which is nearly antipodal to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (meaning Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bermejo Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,822 kilometers) away in Bermejo, Bolivia.
• A second runway running parallel to the west of the current runway started construction in 2008.
• The new terminal is three times the size of terminals A and B and represents a huge upgrade of the airport's facilities and capacity.
• In addition to being known as "Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport", other names for SZX include "深圳宝安国际机场" and "Shēnzhèn Bǎo'ān Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Domestic travelers arriving at the airport can pick up luggage on the second floor, while international passengers will get their luggage on the first floor.
• Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX) has 2 runways.
• Regular bus and minibus services links the Airport with the rest of the city.
• Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport handled 32,268,400 passengers last year.