Nonstop flight route between Clearwater, Florida, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Clearwater Air Park (CLW), Clearwater, Florida, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,584 miles (or 2,549 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 Clearwater Air Park 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 Clearwater Air Park (CLW):

• The furthest airport from Clearwater Air Park (CLW) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,421 miles (18,380 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Clearwater Air Park (CLW) is St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SE of CLW.
• Because of Clearwater Air Park's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Clearwater Air Park 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.
• Clearwater Air Park (CLW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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".
• 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.