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):

• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport handled 11,646,789 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) is Shashi Airport (SHS), which is located 119 miles (192 kilometers) WSW of WUH.
• 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 name Tianhe can be literally translated as "Sky River".
• The 2nd airport expressway under construction
• Recent developments included the construction of a second terminal, a planned second runway in order to better serve the increasing passengers as well as to accommodate the Airbus 380 jumbo jet.
• 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.
• International terminal
• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.