Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Moscow, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bykovo Airport (BKA), Moscow, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,180 miles (or 8,336 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 Bykovo 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 Bykovo 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):

• 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 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Bykovo Airport (BKA):

• The furthest airport from Bykovo Airport (BKA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,717 miles (17,247 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Bykovo Airport (BKA) is Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSW of BKA.
• In addition to being known as "Bykovo Airport", another name for BKA is "Аэропорт Быково".
• On 18 October 2010 passenger operations at the airport were shut down due to the expiration of lease terms with the management company.
• Bykovo Airport (BKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Bykovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 432 feet, planes can take off or land at Bykovo 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.