Nonstop flight route between Quoin Hill, Vanuatu and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), Quoin Hill, Vanuatu and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,308 miles (or 8,542 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 Quoin Hill Airfield 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 Quoin Hill Airfield 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 Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ):

• Investigations took place in the late 1980s as to whether Quoin Hill could be used as an alternate for Bauerfield International Airport, but this never came to fruition.
• The furthest airport from Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,749 miles (18,907 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• A site was chosen for a bomber airfield and in October the Seebees started constructing a 6,000 feet by 200 feet runway which was completed by the middle of January 1943.
• The closest airport to Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ) is Wake Island Airfield (AWK), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) NW of UIQ.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.