Nonstop flight route between Guantánamo, Cuba and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GAO to RCA:
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- About this route
- GAO Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about GAO
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GAO
- List of Nearest Airports to GAO
- Map of Furthest Airports from GAO
- List of Furthest Airports from GAO
- 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 Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), Guantánamo, Cuba and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,309 miles (or 3,716 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 Mariana Grajales 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: | GAO / MUGT |
Airport Name: | Mariana Grajales Airport |
Location: | Guantánamo, Cuba |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°5'7"N by 75°9'29"W |
Area Served: | Guantánamo, Cuba |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 56 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GAO |
More Information: | GAO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO):
- Because of Mariana Grajales Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Mariana Grajales 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.
- The closest airport to Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) is United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) S of GAO.
- Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,823 miles (19,027 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
- 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 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.
- After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
- The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
- 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".