Nonstop flight route between Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,852 miles (or 11,027 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 Vanua Lava 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 Vanua Lava 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 Vanua Lava Airport (SLH):

• The furthest airport from Vanua Lava Airport (SLH) is Bakel Airport (BXE), which is nearly antipodal to Vanua Lava Airport (meaning Vanua Lava Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bakel Airport), and is located 12,368 miles (19,904 kilometers) away in Bakel, Senegal.
• The closest airport to Vanua Lava Airport (SLH) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NE of SLH.
• Because of Vanua Lava Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Vanua Lava 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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".
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.