Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB), Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 980 miles (or 1,578 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 Ann Arbor Municipal 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.

Facts about Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB):

• The current runaway "requires pilots to make a much steeper descent than recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration" and five planes have overrun the runway since 2000.
• The furthest airport from Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,266 miles (18,131 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) is Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of ARB.
• The airport is entirely surrounded by Pittsfield Township, but the airport is owned and operated by the City of Ann Arbor, and the airport property is an exclave that is part of the City of Ann Arbor, having been annexed by the City of Ann Arbor before Pittsfield became a charter township in 1972.
• Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB) has 2 runways.
• Because of Ann Arbor Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 839 feet, planes can take off or land at Ann Arbor Municipal 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 grass runway intersects the paved runway, and is used during the summertime.