Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Altay, Xinjiang, China:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to AAT:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- AAT Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about AAT
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to AAT
- List of Nearest Airports to AAT
- Map of Furthest Airports from AAT
- List of Furthest Airports from AAT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Altay Airport (AAT), Altay, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,051 miles (or 9,738 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Altay Airport, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Altay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
| Airport Names: |
|
| 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | AAT / ZWAT |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Altay, Xinjiang, China |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°45'1"N by 88°5'3"E |
| Area Served: | Altay, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China |
| Operator/Owner: | Civil Aviation Administration of China |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 2460 feet (750 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from AAT |
| More Information: | AAT Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
- 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.
- In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
- 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 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.
Facts about Altay Airport (AAT):
- The furthest airport from Altay Airport (AAT) is Cochrane Airfield (LGR), which is located 11,536 miles (18,566 kilometers) away in Cochrane, Chile.
- Altay Airport (AAT) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Altay Airport", other names for AAT include "阿勒泰机场" and "Ālètài Jīchǎng".
- The closest airport to Altay Airport (AAT) is Kanas Airport (KJI), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) WNW of AAT.
