Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bluefields, Nicaragua:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bluefields Airport (BEF), Bluefields, Nicaragua would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,500 miles (or 4,023 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 Bluefields 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.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.

Facts about Bluefields Airport (BEF):

• The closest airport to Bluefields Airport (BEF) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of BEF.
• Because of Bluefields Airport's relatively low elevation of 41 feet, planes can take off or land at Bluefields 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.
• Bluefields Airport (BEF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bluefields Airport (BEF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Bluefields Airport (meaning Bluefields Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,394 miles (19,946 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.