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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT), Yantai, Shandong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,155 miles (or 9,905 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 Yantai Laishan 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 Yantai Laishan 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):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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 Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT):

• The closest airport to Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) is Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) ESE of YNT.
• Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Yantai Laishan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Yantai Laishan 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.
• The furthest airport from Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) is Tandil Airport (TDL), which is nearly antipodal to Yantai Laishan International Airport (meaning Yantai Laishan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tandil Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Tandil, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yantai Laishan International Airport", other names for YNT include "烟台莱山国际机场" and "Yāntái Láishān Guójì Jīchǎng".