Nonstop flight route between Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NEL to RCA:
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- About this route
- NEL Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about NEL
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to NEL
- List of Nearest Airports to NEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from NEL
- List of Furthest Airports from NEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
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- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,492 miles (or 2,401 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 JB MDL Lakehurst and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NEL / KNEL |
Airport Name: | JB MDL Lakehurst |
Location: | Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°1'59"N by 74°21'12"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
View all routes: | Routes from NEL |
More Information: | NEL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Facts about JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL):
- Today the base is used for various Naval Aviation development programs.
- The closest airport to JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL) is Ocean County Airport (MJX), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SSE of NEL.
- The Lakehurst portion of JB MDL is the world's only provider of full spectrum support for aircraft launch, recovery and support equipment systems for U.S.
- The Navy's lighter-than-air program was conducted at Lakehurst through the 1930s.
- Also known as Maxfield Field, the host unit at Lakehurst is the United States Air Force 87th Air Base Wing.
- The furthest airport from JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,767 miles (18,936 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
- 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.
- The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
- 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.