Nonstop flight route between Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirensk Airport (KCK), Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,170 miles (or 8,321 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 Kirensk 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 Kirensk 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kirensk Airport (KCK):

• The closest airport to Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ust-Kut Airport (UKX), which is located 108 miles (173 kilometers) SW of KCK.
• In addition to being known as "Kirensk Airport", another name for KCK is "Аэропорт Киренск".
• The furthest airport from Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Kirensk Airport (meaning Kirensk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,191 miles (19,619 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
• Kirensk Airport (KCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kirensk Airport's relatively low elevation of 840 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirensk 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.