Nonstop flight route between Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 849 miles (or 1,367 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 Southwest Michigan Regional 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 Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH):

• The closest airport to Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of BEH.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport covers an area of 485 acres at an elevation of 649 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Southwest Michigan Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 649 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Michigan Regional 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 furthest airport from Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,140 miles (17,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Opened in 1973, the air traffic control tower sits abandoned to the present day after its closure during a 1981 controller strike.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) has 3 runways.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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 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".
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.