Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bridgetown, Barbados:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), Bridgetown, Barbados would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,344 miles (or 5,382 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 Grantley Adams 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 Grantley Adams 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):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI):

• Phase II, included adding a brand new arrivals terminal adjacent to the current building.
• The closest airport to Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) is Hewanorra International Airport (UVF), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) WNW of BGI.
• The furthest airport from Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) is Tardamu Airport (SAU), which is nearly antipodal to Grantley Adams International Airport (meaning Grantley Adams International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tardamu Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,684 kilometers) away in Savu Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
• During the 1960s the eastern flight-range just south-east of the airport became known as Paragon.
• In addition to being known as "Grantley Adams International Airport", another name for BGI is "78954[1][2][4]".
• The Airport has a single east-westerly runway, connected by five taxiway intersections with the aircraft parking area which is adjacent to the main terminals.
• After the expansion project, the airport's arrivals facility was moved to a separate brand-new 70,000-square-foot building adjacent to the previous structure.
• Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) currently has only 1 runway.
• "Alpha Echo" was also the last Concorde to fly supersonic on 17 November 2003, on its delivery flight to Barbados.