Nonstop flight route between Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SXM to RCA:
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- About this route
- SXM Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about SXM
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SXM
- List of Nearest Airports to SXM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SXM
- List of Furthest Airports from SXM
- 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 Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,929 miles (or 4,713 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 Princess Juliana 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 Princess Juliana 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SXM / TNCM |
Airport Name: | Princess Juliana International Airport |
Location: | Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°2'26"N by 63°6'33"W |
Operator/Owner: | Princess Juliana Int'l Airport Holding Company N.V. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SXM |
More Information: | SXM 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 Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):
- The closest airport to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.
- The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
- The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942.
- If traffic develops as forecast, Phase III of the masterplan will be executed, consisting of an extension of the new terminal building and the construction of a full parallel taxiway system.
- The main apron measures 72,500 square metres with another 5,000 square metres on Eastern apron.
- Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Although the airport is as close to the beach as it is, there have only been 2 major accidents.
- Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana 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.
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.
- 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
- 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 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.