Nonstop flight route between Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,450 miles (or 11,990 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 Zhanjiang 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 Zhanjiang 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 Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA):

• Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Zhanjiang Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Zhanjiang 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 Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA) is Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), which is nearly antipodal to Zhanjiang Airport (meaning Zhanjiang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diego Aracena International Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Iquique, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Zhanjiang Airport", other names for ZHA include "湛江机场" and "Zhànjiāng Jīchǎng".
• Zhanjiang Airport handled 488,835 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA) is Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) WNW of ZHA.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.