Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA), Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,884 miles (or 11,079 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 Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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 Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA):

• In December 2009, an affirmative schedule for the route between Tokyo-Haneda and Taipei-Songshan was announced.
• On 14 June 2010, direct flights between Taipei-Songshan and Shanghai-Hongqiao began.
• Because of Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport)'s relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan 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 Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) is Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) W of TSA.
• In addition to being known as "Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport)", other names for TSA include "台北國際航空站台北松山機場" and "Táiběi Guójì HángkōngzhànTáiběi Sōngshān Jīchǎng".
• The Songshan Airport closing proposal was deferred under the Taipei City Government which has long been dominated by the Pan-Blue Coalition, who prefers the downtown airport connection concept with Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo.
• The furthest airport from Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (meaning Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• The civilian section of Songshan Airport, officially Taipei International Airport, has scheduled flights serving Taiwan, mainland China, South Korea and Japan, with almost all international flights out of the Taipei area served by Taoyuan International Airport.
• Taipei Songshan Airport is a midsize commercial airport and military airbase located in Songshan, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Service to Taichung and Chiayi was stopped in mid-2007 after the load factor dropped significantly due to Taiwan High Speed Rail start of revenue service in January 2007.
• This kind of "city-to-city" flights have already been established between Seoul-Gimpo and Tokyo-Haneda, and between Shanghai-Hongqiao and Tokyo-Haneda.
• Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) currently has only 1 runway.