Nonstop flight route between Cordova, Alaska, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV), Cordova, Alaska, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,064 miles (or 3,322 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 Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith 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 Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV):

• The furthest airport from Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,562 miles (16,998 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Cordova Municipal Airport (CKU), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of CDV.
• Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) has 2 runways.
• Because of Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport's relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith 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):

• 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 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.