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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ambler Airport (ABL), Ambler, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,530 miles (or 4,072 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 Ambler 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 Ambler Airport. 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

Facts about Ambler Airport (ABL):

• In addition to being known as "Ambler Airport", another name for ABL is "AFM".
• Ambler Airport (ABL) has 2 runways.
• Ambler Airport covers an area of 272 acres at an elevation of 334 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Ambler Airport's relatively low elevation of 334 feet, planes can take off or land at Ambler 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 closest airport to Ambler Airport (ABL) is Shungnak Airport (SHG), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SE of ABL.
• The furthest airport from Ambler Airport (ABL) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,187 miles (16,394 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.