Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Taoyuan County (near Taipei), Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), Taoyuan County (near Taipei), Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,895 miles (or 11,096 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 Taiwan Taoyuan 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 Taiwan Taoyuan 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 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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.
• 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE):

• Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) has 2 runways.
• The Executive Yuan of then-President Chen Shui-bian's administration officially approved the name Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for the hub on September 6, 2006.
• In January 2006, a Foreign Laborers' Service Center was set up to provide airport pick-up services and serve the needs of migrant workers.
• The closest airport to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) E of TPE.
• Airport Business Center
• The airport has two parallel runways, with one 3660 meters in length and another 3350 meters in length and both 60 meters wide, enabling them to cater to the next generation of aircraft.
• The airport, originally planned as Taoyuan International Airport, bore the name of late President Chiang Kai-shek until 2006.
• Because of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Taiwan Taoyuan 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 "Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport", other names for TPE include "臺灣桃園國際機場桃園機場" and "Táiwān Táoyuán Gúojì JīchǎngTáoyuán Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (meaning Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• After the completion of Terminal 2, some gates from Terminal 1 were removed to make space for Terminal 2.
• The Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System is scheduled to begin service in December 2015 and will link both terminals to Taipei and Zhongli, Taoyuan.