Nonstop flight route between Wuhan, Hubei, China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH), Wuhan, Hubei, China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,751 miles (or 10,864 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 Wuhan Tianhe International 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 Wuhan Tianhe International 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 Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH):

• In addition to being known as "Wuhan Tianhe International Airport", other names for WUH include "武汉天河国际机场" and "Wǔhàn Tiānhé Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) is La Cumbre Airport (LCM), which is nearly antipodal to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (meaning Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Cumbre Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in La Cumbre, Córdoba, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) is Shashi Airport (SHS), which is located 119 miles (192 kilometers) WSW of WUH.
• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport handled 11,646,789 passengers last year.
• Because of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Wuhan Tianhe International 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 name Tianhe can be literally translated as "Sky River".
• Plans also exist to eventually extend Line 2 of Wuhan Metro to Tianhe Airport.
• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 2nd airport expressway under construction

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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.