Nonstop flight route between Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK), Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,677 miles (or 2,699 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 Nantucket Memorial Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK):

• During World War II, the U.S.
• Up through the 1990s, a variety of other carriers served the airport, some of which used jet airliners as large as McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.
• Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,858 miles (19,083 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Nantucket Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at Nantucket Memorial 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 airport apron for commercial aircraft has eight parking spots for Cessna 402 aircraft mainly operated by Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines and to a lesser extent from Island Airlines.
• The closest airport to Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) is Marthas Vineyard Airport (MVY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) WNW of ACK.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.