Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Arequipa, Peru:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP), Arequipa, Peru would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,627 miles (or 7,447 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 Rodríguez Ballón International 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 Rodríguez Ballón International 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):

• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.

Facts about Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP):

• On 18 March 1983, Douglas C-47E FAP-356 of the Fuerza Aérea del Perú was damaged beyond repair in an accident at Arequipa Airport.
• The furthest airport from Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP) is Đà Nẵng International Airport (DAD), which is nearly antipodal to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (meaning Rodríguez Ballón International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Đà Nẵng International Airport), and is located 12,412 miles (19,975 kilometers) away in Da Nang, Vietnam.
• Because of Rodríguez Ballón International Airport's high elevation of 8,405 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AQP. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AQP a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport is currently operated by the consortium "Aeropuertos Andinos", who reshuffled and modernized the existing facilities.
• Rodríguez Ballón International Airport, known as Aeropuerto Internacional Rodríguez Ballón in Spanish, is an airport serving Peru's second largest city, Arequipa.
• Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP) is Ilo Airport (ILQ), which is located 95 miles (153 kilometers) S of AQP.