Nonstop flight route between Yamagata, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SYO to RCA:
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- About this route
- SYO Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about SYO
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYO
- List of Nearest Airports to SYO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYO
- List of Furthest Airports from SYO
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shonai Airport (SYO), Yamagata, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,496 miles (or 8,845 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 Shonai 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 Shonai 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYO / RJSY |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Yamagata, Japan |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°48'43"N by 139°47'13"E |
Area Served: | Sakata, Yamagata |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 72 feet (22 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYO |
More Information: | SYO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Facts about Shonai Airport (SYO):
- Seiko Epson has also used the airport for weekly employee charter flights to and from Matsumoto since 1997.
- In addition to being known as "Shonai Airport", other names for SYO include "庄内空港" and "Shonai Kūkō".
- Because of Shonai Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Shonai 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 Shonai Airport (SYO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,620 miles (18,701 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Shonai Airport (SYO) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 42 miles (67 kilometers) SE of SYO.
- Shonai Airport (SYO) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
- 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
- Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- 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.
- An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.