Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,088 miles (or 11,407 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 Tarin Kowt 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 Tarin Kowt 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 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.
• 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.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Tarin Kowt Airport (TII):

• The airport resides at an elevation of 4,495 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Tarin Kowt Airport", another name for TII is "Tarin Kowt Airport (Tarin Kowt)".
• On 29 June 2009, Kam Air started flying between Kabul and Tarin Kowt three times a week.
• Tarin Kowt Airport (TII) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tarin Kowt Airport (TII) is Kabul International Airport (KDH), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) S of TII.
• Because of Tarin Kowt Airport's high elevation of 4,495 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TII. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TII a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Tarin Kowt Airport (TII) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,967 miles (19,258 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.