Nonstop flight route between Mulatupo, Panamá and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mulatupo Airport (MPP), Mulatupo, Panamá and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,868 miles (or 4,615 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 Mulatupo 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 Mulatupo 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 Mulatupo Airport (MPP):

• The closest airport to Mulatupo Airport (MPP) is Achutupo Airport (ACU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) NW of MPP.
• Because of Mulatupo Airport's relatively low elevation of 105 feet, planes can take off or land at Mulatupo 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 Mulatupo Airport (MPP) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Mulatupo Airport (meaning Mulatupo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,182 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• Mulatupo Airport (MPP) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.