Nonstop flight route between Poitiers, France and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PIS to RCA:
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- About this route
- PIS Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about PIS
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIS
- List of Nearest Airports to PIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIS
- List of Furthest Airports from PIS
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS), Poitiers, France and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,625 miles (or 7,442 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 Poitiers–Biard 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 Poitiers–Biard 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIS / LFBI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Poitiers, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°35'14"N by 0°18'24"E |
Area Served: | Poitiers, France |
Operator/Owner: | CCI Vienne |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 423 feet (129 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIS |
More Information: | PIS 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 Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS):
- Because of Poitiers–Biard Airport's relatively low elevation of 423 feet, planes can take off or land at Poitiers–Biard 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.
- In addition to being known as "Poitiers–Biard Airport", another name for PIS is "Aéroport de Poitiers – Biard".
- The furthest airport from Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Poitiers–Biard Airport (meaning Poitiers–Biard Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,189 miles (19,616 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport (ANG), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) S of PIS.
- Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) has 3 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".
- 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
- 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.