Nonstop flight route between Grand Junction, Colorado, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT), Grand Junction, Colorado, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 447 miles (or 719 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 Grand Junction Regional 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 Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Junction Regional Airport", another name for GJT is "Walker Field".
• The furthest airport from Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,014 miles (17,726 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) has 2 runways.
• The first airliners at Grand Junction were Monarch Douglas DC-3s in 1946-47.
• The first jets at Grand Junction were Frontier Boeing 727-100s flying DEN-GJT-SLC and back starting Oct-Nov 1966.
• Because of Grand Junction Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GJT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GJT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) ENE of GJT.
• Federal Aviation Administration records show 212,588 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 228,850 in 2009 and 219,358 in 2010.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.