Nonstop flight route between Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GTE to RCA:
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- About this route
- GTE Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about GTE
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GTE
- List of Nearest Airports to GTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GTE
- List of Furthest Airports from GTE
- 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 Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE), Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,389 miles (or 13,501 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 large distance between Groote Eylandt Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Groote Eylandt Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GTE / YGTE |
Airport Name: | Groote Eylandt Airport |
Location: | Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 13°58'29"S by 136°27'36"E |
Area Served: | Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | Groote Eylandt Mining Co. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 53 feet (16 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GTE |
More Information: | GTE 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 Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE):
- Because of Groote Eylandt Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Groote Eylandt 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.
- Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) is Lake Evella Airport (LEL), which is located 111 miles (179 kilometers) NNW of GTE.
- The furthest airport from Groote Eylandt Airport (GTE) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,564 miles (18,611 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- 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.