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):

• The first airliners at Grand Junction were Monarch Douglas DC-3s in 1946-47.
• Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) has 2 runways.
• The airport opened in 1930 as Grand Junction Municipal Airport.
• The airport covers 2,357 acres at an elevation of 4,858 feet.
• 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.
• 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.
• The first jets at Grand Junction were Frontier Boeing 727-100s flying DEN-GJT-SLC and back starting Oct-Nov 1966.
• 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.