Nonstop flight route between Esmeraldas, Ecuador and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM), Esmeraldas, Ecuador and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,311 miles (or 5,329 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 Carlos Concha Torres International 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 Carlos Concha Torres International 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 Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM):

• Because of Carlos Concha Torres International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Carlos Concha Torres International 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.
• Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) is Minangkabau International Airport (MIA) (PDG), which is nearly antipodal to Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (meaning Carlos Concha Torres International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minangkabau International Airport (MIA)), and is located 12,422 miles (19,991 kilometers) away in Ketaping, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) is Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), which is located 116 miles (186 kilometers) SE of ESM.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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.
• 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 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 AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.