Nonstop flight route between Hondo, Texas, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO), Hondo, Texas, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,044 miles (or 1,680 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO):

• The furthest airport from South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• For the 12-month period ending January 20, 2012, the airport had 95,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 260 per day.
• South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) has 4 runways.
• Because of South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo's relatively low elevation of 930 feet, planes can take off or land at South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo 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 South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo (HDO) is Garner Field (UVA), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of HDO.
• During the 1960s the city of Hondo leased facilities at the base to the Hondo Livestock Auction and to Gary Aerospace, Universal Rundle, and Doss Aviation.
• After the mid-1970s the base housed a number of businesses, including a fiberglass-products plant, a greenhouse, a national guard armory, and the Medina Electric Cooperative.

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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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 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.