Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Butte, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bert Mooney Airport (BTM), Butte, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 476 miles (or 767 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 Bert Mooney 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Bert Mooney Airport (BTM):

• Because of Bert Mooney Airport's high elevation of 5,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BTM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BTM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport name was changed in 1972 to honor Bert Mooney, an aviator from Butte who was the first to fly mail into Yellowstone National Park in 1935.
• The furthest airport from Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On March 22, 2009 a Pilatus PC-12 flying in from Oroville, California crashed in Holy Cross Cemetery 500 feet from the airport, killing all 14 people on board.
• Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) is Dillon Airport (DLN), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) S of BTM.