Nonstop flight route between Praia, Cape Verde and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RAI to RCA:
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- About this route
- RAI Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about RAI
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to RAI
- List of Nearest Airports to RAI
- Map of Furthest Airports from RAI
- List of Furthest Airports from RAI
- 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 Praia International Airport (RAI), Praia, Cape Verde and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,992 miles (or 8,034 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 Praia International 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 Praia International 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: | RAI / GVNP |
Airport Name: | Praia International Airport |
Location: | Praia, Cape Verde |
GPS Coordinates: | 14°55'27"N by 23°29'38"W |
Operator/Owner: | Aeroportos Segurança Aérea (ASA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 230 feet (70 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RAI |
More Information: | RAI 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 Praia International Airport (RAI):
- Praia International Airport (RAI) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Praia International Airport (RAI) is Bellona/Anua Airport (BNY), which is nearly antipodal to Praia International Airport (meaning Praia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bellona/Anua Airport), and is located 12,103 miles (19,477 kilometers) away in Anua, Bellona Island, Solomon Islands.
- The closest airport to Praia International Airport (RAI) is Maio Airport (MMO), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NE of RAI.
- Because of Praia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 230 feet, planes can take off or land at Praia International 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.
- 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
- 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- 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".
- 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.