Nonstop flight route between Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rockhampton Airport (ROK), Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,124 miles (or 13,074 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 Rockhampton Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, 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 Rockhampton Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. 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 Rockhampton Airport (ROK):

• The closest airport to Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Gladstone Airport (GLT), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) SE of ROK.
• Because of Rockhampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Rockhampton 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 Rockhampton Airport (ROK) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,922 miles (19,187 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Rockhampton Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Rockhampton, with flights to the cites of Brisbane, Gladstone, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay.
• In 2011, the airport handled 701,062 passengers and 12,606 aircraftmovements, a drop from the 2010 figure of 777,212 passengers and 14,602 aircraft.
• In 2008, Rockhampton Airport completed an A$8.4 million terminal redevelopment.
• Rockhampton Airport handled 701,062 passengers last year.
• Rockhampton Airport (ROK) has 2 runways.
• The Rockhampton Airport was named the 2007 Australian Major Airport of the Year at the prestigious National Awards in recognition of Excellence in Australian Aviation, in Melbourne on 13 November 2007.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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 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.
• 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.