Nonstop flight route between Bellingham, Washington, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BLI to RCA:
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- About this route
- BLI Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about BLI
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BLI
- List of Nearest Airports to BLI
- Map of Furthest Airports from BLI
- List of Furthest Airports from BLI
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bellingham International Airport (BLI), Bellingham, Washington, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 977 miles (or 1,572 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 relatively short distance between Bellingham International Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BLI / KBLI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Bellingham, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°47'32"N by 122°32'14"W |
Area Served: | Bellingham, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Port of Bellingham |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 170 feet (52 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BLI |
More Information: | BLI Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Bellingham International Airport (BLI):
- In addition to being known as "Bellingham International Airport", another name for BLI is "(Bellingham/Tulip Army Airfield)".
- Bellingham International Airport (BLI) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Bellingham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Bellingham 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.
- Northwest Sky Ferry offers scheduled and charter flights from Bellingham to the San Juan Islands in Washington, Seattle, Tacoma, Port Angeles, Olympia, and British Columbia.
- In 1936 Whatcom County obtained 200 acres for an airport at the current airport site.
- In the 1990s homes were purchased to extend the runway in an effort to attract air carriers.
- The furthest airport from Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,700 miles (17,220 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The early 21st century saw rapid expansion at the Bellingham International Airport from multiple large air carriers motivated by the potential passenger loads from lower mainland British Columbia.
- In 1940 the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over the facility and expanded it to three full runways, revetments for parking aircraft, and development of personnel quarters.
- The closest airport to Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is Blaine Municipal Airport (BWS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of BLI.
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 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
- After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
- 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.
- 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.
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.