Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Weihai, Shandong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), Weihai, Shandong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,144 miles (or 9,887 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 Weihai Dashuibo 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 Weihai Dashuibo 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):

• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.

Facts about Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH):

• The furthest airport from Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH) is Villa Gesell Airport (VLG), which is nearly antipodal to Weihai Dashuibo Airport (meaning Weihai Dashuibo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Villa Gesell Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,949 kilometers) away in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Weihai Dashuibo Airport", other names for WEH include "威海大水泊机场" and "Wēihǎi Dàshuǐbó Jīchǎng".
• Because of Weihai Dashuibo Airport's relatively low elevation of 144 feet, planes can take off or land at Weihai Dashuibo 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 Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH) is Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) WNW of WEH.
• Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Weihai Dashuibo Airport handled 935,450 passengers last year.
• Weihai Airport is a class 4D airport.