Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ambato, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Chachoan Airport (ATF), Ambato, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,479 miles (or 5,599 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 Chachoan 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 Chachoan 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Chachoan Airport (ATF):

• The furthest airport from Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Pinang Kampai Airport (DUM), which is nearly antipodal to Chachoan Airport (meaning Chachoan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pinang Kampai Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Dumai, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Chachoan Airport (ATF) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) N of ATF.
• Because of Chachoan Airport's high elevation of 8,502 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ATF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ATF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Chachoan Airport", another name for ATF is "Aeropuerto Chachoan".