Nonstop flight route between Kotzebue, Alaska, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ), Kotzebue, Alaska, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,655 miles (or 4,272 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 Ralph Wien Memorial 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 Ralph Wien Memorial 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 Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ):

• {{Airport-dest-list | Alaska Airlines |,] Anchorage | Bering Air | Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Noatak, Nome, Noorvik, Point Hope, Selawik, Shungnak | Era Alaska | Ambler, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Kiana, Deering, Point Hope }}
• The closest airport to Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of OTZ.
• Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,291 miles (16,561 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Because of Ralph Wien Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Ralph Wien Memorial 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):

• 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 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".
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.