Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bangor, Maine, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,676 miles (or 2,698 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 Bangor International 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):

• In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.

Facts about Bangor International Airport (BGR):

• Bangor International Airport (BGR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Marketing efforts by airport officials drove annual passengers from 369,000 in 2001 past 480,000 in 2005.
• Regular air passenger service to Portland and Boston was begun in 1931 by Boston-Maine Airways, owned by the Boston and Maine and Bangor and Aroostook railroads and under contract to Pan American, which was interested in the airport as a stop on its planned intercontinental air route between the U.S.
• The closest airport to Bangor International Airport (BGR) is Old Town Municipal Airport (OLD), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) NE of BGR.
• Because of Bangor International Airport's relatively low elevation of 192 feet, planes can take off or land at Bangor 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.
• Decades ago, British Airways offered regular service from Bangor.
• In October 1969, a Trans World Airlines plane that had been hijacked in California refueled in Bangor on its way to Rome, where the hijacker was captured.
• The furthest airport from Bangor International Airport (BGR) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,670 miles (18,782 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.