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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,223 miles (or 3,577 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC):

• The piece consists of nine towers of glass, collectively adding up to 42 meters of in span and reaching to 8 meters at its highest point.
• The furthest airport from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,548 miles (16,975 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) ENE of ANC.
• The airport was renamed in 2000 by the Alaska Legislature to honor former long-standing U.S.
• A shuttle bus runs approximately every 15 minutes between the North and South terminals and the employee and long-term parking lots.
• The FAA has forecast total operations for the year 2011 to be 261,375.
• Because of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport's relatively low elevation of 152 feet, planes can take off or land at Ted Stevens Anchorage 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.
• Route 7A of the Anchorage People Mover bus system serves the airport's North and South terminals once every hour in each direction, connecting it with the downtown Transit Center and the Dimond Center mall.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport handled 4,976,557 passengers last year.