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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Moller Airport (PML), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,593 miles (or 4,172 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 Port Moller 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 Port Moller 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 Port Moller Airport (PML):

• The closest airport to Port Moller Airport (PML) is Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) W of PML.
• The airport was built in 1958 to support Port Moller Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station.
• Port Moller Airport (PML) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Port Moller Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Moller 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 Port Moller Airport (PML) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,914 miles (17,564 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Port Moller Airport", other names for PML include "Port Moller Air Force Station" and "1AK3".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.