Nonstop flight route between Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Los Alamos Airport (LAM), Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 596 miles (or 958 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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos Airport (LAM):

• The closest airport to Los Alamos Airport (LAM) is Ohkay Owingeh Airport (ESO), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of LAM.
• Because of Los Alamos Airport's high elevation of 7,171 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LAM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LAM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Los Alamos Airport", another name for LAM is "Los Alamos County Airport".
• Los Alamos Airport (LAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built in 1947 by the Atomic Energy Commission as part of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, but the federal government transferred the facility to county ownership in 2008.
• The furthest airport from Los Alamos Airport (LAM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,157 miles (17,956 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of the restricted airspace immediately to the south of the runway, and the noise-sensitive residential area just west of the runway, Los Alamos Airport employs a non-standard traffic pattern.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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".
• 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.