Nonstop flight route between Comiso, Italy and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comiso Airport (CIY), Comiso, Italy and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,611 miles (or 9,030 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 Comiso 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 Comiso 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 Comiso Airport (CIY):

• In addition to being known as "Comiso Airport", another name for CIY is "Aeroporto di Comiso".
• The first civil flight was made on a 30 April 2007, after the necessary tests and the inauguration of the new runway, but the airport was open to the traffic only the 30th of May 2013.
• The closest airport to Comiso Airport (CIY) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNE of CIY.
• Because of Comiso Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Comiso 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 airfield and facilities at Magliocco fell into disuse during the postwar years.
• The furthest airport from Comiso Airport (CIY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Comiso Airport (CIY) currently has only 1 runway.
• From 1983 to 1991 Comiso Air Base was the largest NATO base in southern Europe and housed 112 BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles,.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.