Nonstop flight route between Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), Jacksonville, Florida, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,499 miles (or 2,412 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 Jacksonville International 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 Jacksonville International Airport (JAX):

• The new airport was slow to expand, only serving two million passengers a year by 1982, but it served over five million annually by 1999 and an expansion plan was approved in 2000.
• Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSE of JAX.
• Jacksonville International Airport handled 5,605,934 passengers last year.
• Because of Jacksonville International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Jacksonville International 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.
• Also included is a further expansion of the parking system and a new automated baggage screening system.
• The furthest airport from Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,456 miles (18,436 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.