Nonstop flight route between Saül, French Guiana and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from XAU to RCA:
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- About this route
- XAU Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about XAU
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to XAU
- List of Nearest Airports to XAU
- Map of Furthest Airports from XAU
- List of Furthest Airports from XAU
- 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 Saül Airport (XAU), Saül, French Guiana and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,121 miles (or 6,631 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 Saül 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 Saül 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: | XAU / SOOS |
Airport Name: | Saül Airport |
Location: | Saül, French Guiana |
GPS Coordinates: | 3°36'48"N by 53°12'15"W |
Area Served: | Saül, French Guiana |
Operator/Owner: | Conseil Général de la Guyane |
Elevation: | 735 feet (224 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XAU |
More Information: | XAU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Saül Airport (XAU):
- The closest airport to Saül Airport (XAU) is Maripasoula Airport (MPY), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) W of XAU.
- The furthest airport from Saül Airport (XAU) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Saül Airport (meaning Saül Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,419 miles (19,986 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.
- Because of Saül Airport's relatively low elevation of 735 feet, planes can take off or land at Saül 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.
- Saül Airport (XAU) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
- 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 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.
- On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".