Nonstop flight route between Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FCM to RCA:
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- About this route
- FCM Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about FCM
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FCM
- List of Nearest Airports to FCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from FCM
- List of Furthest Airports from FCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 476 miles (or 766 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 Flying Cloud Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FCM / KFCM |
Airport Name: | Flying Cloud Airport |
Location: | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°49'37"N by 93°27'25"W |
Operator/Owner: | Metropolitan Airports Commission |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 906 feet (276 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from FCM |
More Information: | FCM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Facts about Flying Cloud Airport (FCM):
- The closest airport to Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) ENE of FCM.
- Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,748 miles (17,297 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Flying Cloud Airport's relatively low elevation of 906 feet, planes can take off or land at Flying Cloud 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.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- 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 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.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.