Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aspen, Colorado, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to ASE:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- ASE Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about ASE
- 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 ASE
- List of Nearest Airports to ASE
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASE
- List of Furthest Airports from ASE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 392 miles (or 631 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 Aspen–Pitkin County Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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: | ASE / KASE |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Aspen, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°13'23"N by 106°52'8"W |
| Area Served: | Aspen, Colorado |
| Operator/Owner: | Pitkin County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 7820 feet (2,384 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ASE |
| More Information: | ASE Maps & Info |
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.
- Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
- The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
- On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
- 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.
Facts about Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE):
- Aspen–Pitkin Co./Sardy Field covers an area of 573 acres at an elevation of 7,820 feet above mean sea level.
- Construction on the runway extension project began on April 4, 2011, and was completed on November 2, 2011.
- Per Title X of the Pitkin County Code, the airport has several unique operating limitations.
- The closest airport to Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of ASE.
- Aspen–Pitkin County Airport, also known as Sardy Field, is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Aspen, in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States.
- In addition to being known as "Aspen–Pitkin County Airport", another name for ASE is "Sardy Field".
- Mesaba Airlines operating as Northwest Airlink flew the Avro RJ85, a later version of the BAe 146 jet, on seasonal nonstop flights to Minneapolis/St.
- Because of Aspen–Pitkin County Airport's high elevation of 7,820 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Several airport improvements are planned or underway at the Aspen–Pitkin County Airport.
- One of the potential improvements included in the 2012 Updated Master Plan is the construction of a new airport terminal.
