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):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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".

Facts about Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (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".
• Shared military and civilian use—both domestic and international—began on 16 April 1950 in the reconstructed Civil Aeronautics Administration Taipei Airport.
• Taipei International Airport (Taipei Songshan Airport) (TSA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• This kind of "city-to-city" flights have already been established between Seoul-Gimpo and Tokyo-Haneda, and between Shanghai-Hongqiao and Tokyo-Haneda.
• The continuing growth of Taipei City means that Songshan airport is nowadays situated in the heart of downtown.