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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GDW to RCA:
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- About this route
- GDW Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about GDW
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GDW
- List of Nearest Airports to GDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GDW
- List of Furthest Airports from GDW
- 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 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GDW / KGDW |
Airport Name: | Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport |
Location: | Gladwin, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°58'14"N by 84°28'29"W |
Area Served: | Gladwin, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | City/County of Gladwin |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 774 feet (236 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GDW |
More Information: | GDW 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW):
- 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.
- Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport covers an area of 300 acres at an elevation of 774 feet above mean sea level.
- 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.
- Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Gladwin, a city in Gladwin County, Michigan, United States.
- Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) has 2 runways.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
- 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.
- Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.