Nonstop flight route between Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH), Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,108 miles (or 1,784 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 Lake Charles Regional 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 Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH):

• The furthest airport from Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,040 miles (17,767 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is Chennault International Airport (CWF), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NE of LCH.
• Because of Lake Charles Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Charles Regional 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.
• A large number of helicopters are based at LCH and serve both the petroleum industry in the Gulf and other purposes.
• Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) has 2 runways.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.