Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Oranjestad, Aruba:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA), Oranjestad, Aruba would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,933 miles (or 4,720 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 Queen Beatrix 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 Queen Beatrix 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):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA):

• Because of Queen Beatrix International Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Queen Beatrix 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.
• The closest airport to Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) is Josefa Camejo International Airport (LSP), which is located 51 miles (81 kilometers) S of AUA.
• The furthest airport from Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Queen Beatrix International Airport (meaning Queen Beatrix International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,113 miles (19,494 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• In 2011, the airport was voted fourth in a list of the world's top 10 airport approaches in a survey conducted by PrivateFly.com.
• This airport used to serve as the hub for bankrupt airline Air Aruba, which was for many years an international airline.
• Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Queen Beatrix International Airport", another name for AUA is "Internationale luchthaven Koningin BeatrixAeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix".