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):

• 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".
• 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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 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.

Facts about Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE):

• The handling and transportation of mail, passenger baggage, cargo, and the operation of aerobridges and passenger stairways in Taoyuan Airport is provided by Taoyuan International Airport Services Limited and Evergreen Airline Services.
• The airport opened for commercial operations in 1979 and is an important regional trans-shipment center, passenger hub, and gateway for destinations in China and the rest of Asia.
• Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) has 2 runways.
• There are 41 frontal stands at the main passenger concourse, 15 remote stands and 25 cargo stands.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Terminal 1 is the original passenger terminal of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.