Nonstop flight route between Birch Creek, Alaska, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birch Creek Airport (KBC), Birch Creek, Alaska, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,199 miles (or 3,539 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 Birch Creek 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 Birch Creek Airport (KBC):

• In addition to being known as "Birch Creek Airport", another name for KBC is "Z91".
• Because of Birch Creek Airport's relatively low elevation of 450 feet, planes can take off or land at Birch Creek 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.
• The furthest airport from Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,178 miles (16,381 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Birch Creek Airport (KBC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Fort Yukon Airport (FYU), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NE of KBC.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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 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".
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.