Nonstop flight route between Fresno, California, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), Fresno, California, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,016 miles (or 1,635 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 Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) 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 Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH):

• Because of Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old)'s relatively low elevation of 279 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) 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.
• Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,334 miles (18,241 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The United States Army Air Corps Southwest Air District took over the airport in early 1941 while nearby Hammer Army Airfield was being built.
• The closest airport to Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) is Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of FCH.
• Fresno Chandler Executive Airport is a public use airport two miles west of the central business district of Fresno, in Fresno County, California, United States.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.