Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Honolulu, Hawaii, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to HIK:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- HIK Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about HIK
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to HIK
- List of Nearest Airports to HIK
- Map of Furthest Airports from HIK
- List of Furthest Airports from HIK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hickam Field (HIK), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,479 miles (or 5,599 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Hickam Field, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Hickam Field. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HIK / PHIK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°19'6"N by 157°55'21"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 6 |
View all routes: | Routes from HIK |
More Information: | HIK Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
- Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Hickam Field (HIK):
- Hickam Field is a United States Air Force facility, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam.
- Hickam Field (HIK) has 6 runways.
- Hickam is home to the 15th Wing and 67 partner units including Headquarters, United States Pacific Air Forces, Headquarters – Hawaii Air National Guard and the 154th Wing of the Hawaii Air National Guard.
- The closest airport to Hickam Field (HIK) is Honolulu International Airport (HNL), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of HIK.
- On 22 March 1955, a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster transport on descent to a landing in darkness and heavy rain strayed off course and crashed into Pali Kea Peak in the southern part of Oahu's Waianae Range, killing all 66 people on board.
- Part of United States Pacific Air Forces
- When the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked O‘ahu's military installations on 7 December 1941, their planes bombed and strafed Hickam to eliminate air opposition and prevent U.S.
- The furthest airport from Hickam Field (HIK) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Hickam Field (meaning Hickam Field is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
- In addition to being known as "Hickam Field", another name for HIK is "Part of United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)".
- In 1934, the Army Air Corps saw the need for another airfield in Hawaii when Luke Field on Ford Island became too congested for both air operations and operation of the Hawaiian Air Depot.
- Because of Hickam Field's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Hickam Field 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.