Nonstop flight route between Solwezi, Zambia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Solwezi Airport (SLI), Solwezi, Zambia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,729 miles (or 14,048 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 Solwezi 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 Solwezi 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 Solwezi Airport (SLI):

• Solwezi Airport (SLI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Solwezi Airport (SLI) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Solwezi Airport (SLI) is Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM), which is located 88 miles (142 kilometers) ENE of SLI.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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".
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.