Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Basrah, Iraq:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport (BSR), Basrah, Iraq would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,955 miles (or 11,194 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 Basrah International AirportBasrah 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 Basrah International AirportBasrah 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 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".
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.

Facts about Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport (BSR):

• The closest airport to Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport (BSR) is Abadan International Airport (ABD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) ESE of BSR.
• Basrah International Airport is the second largest international airport in Iraq, and is located in the southern city of Basra.
• The furthest airport from Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport (BSR) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,898 miles (19,147 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport (BSR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Basrah International AirportBasrah Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Basrah International AirportBasrah 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 airport was eventually reopened in June 2004.