Nonstop flight route between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,458 miles (or 2,347 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 Northeast Philadelphia Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE):

• Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) is NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of PNE.
• Northeast Philadelphia Airport covers 1,150 acres at an elevation of 121 feet above mean sea level.
• Northeast Philadelphia Airport is a public airport just north of the intersection of Grant Avenue and Ashton Road in Northeast Philadelphia.
• Because of Northeast Philadelphia Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Northeast Philadelphia 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 Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,736 miles (18,888 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Northeast Philadelphia Airport started in the 1930s as the Northeast Airport, a grass field with no paved runways, one of three small airports in the area.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.