Nonstop flight route between Wuxi/Suzhou, Jiangsu, China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX), Wuxi/Suzhou, Jiangsu, China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,535 miles (or 10,517 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 Sunan Shuofang 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 Sunan Shuofang 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 Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX):

• Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sunan Shuofang International Airport handled 2,535,227 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of WUX.
• In addition to being known as "Sunan Shuofang International Airport", other names for WUX include "苏南硕放国际机场" and "Sūnán Shuòfàng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Because of Sunan Shuofang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunan Shuofang 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 furthest airport from Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is General Justo José de Urquiza Airport (PRA), which is nearly antipodal to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (meaning Sunan Shuofang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Justo José de Urquiza Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,923 kilometers) away in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.