Nonstop flight route between Carrickfinn, Ireland and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Donegal Airport (CFN), Carrickfinn, Ireland and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,975 miles (or 6,397 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 Donegal 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 Donegal 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Donegal Airport (CFN):

• The furthest airport from Donegal Airport (CFN) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,853 miles (19,076 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Donegal Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Donegal 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.
• In October 2011, Aer Arann ceased operations at Donegal due to the loss of the Dublin PSO contract.
• The closest airport to Donegal Airport (CFN) is City of Derry Airport (LDY), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) E of CFN.
• In February 2010, Aer Arann closed its service to Glasgow Prestwick Airport and relocated to Glasgow International Airport
• In addition to being known as "Donegal Airport", another name for CFN is "Aerfort Dhún na nGall".
• Due to the large gas field in the area, non-scheduled chartered Helicopter flights connect to the multiple offshore installations.
• Donegal Airport (CFN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 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.
• 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 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".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.