Nonstop flight route between Drietabbetje, Suriname and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), Drietabbetje, Suriname and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,030 miles (or 6,485 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 Drietabbetje Airstrip 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 Drietabbetje Airstrip 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 Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ):

• Because of Drietabbetje Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at Drietabbetje Airstrip 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 Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Drietabbetje Airstrip (meaning Drietabbetje Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,341 miles (19,861 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ) is Stoelmans Eiland Airstrip (SMZ), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) NE of DRJ.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.