Nonstop flight route between Gladwin, Michigan, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW), Gladwin, Michigan, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 922 miles (or 1,483 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW):

• Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,182 miles (17,995 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, the airport had 4,454 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 12 per day.
• Because of Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 774 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (MOP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of GDW.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.