Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), Dum Dum (near Kolkata), India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,764 miles (or 12,495 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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):

• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU):

• Because of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 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.
• The airport's new integrated terminal is spread over 233,000 m2 and is able to handle 25 million passengers annually, compared to the previous terminals' capacity of five million.
• Due to the introduction of longer haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport.
• The airport began as an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armoury in Dum Dum.
• The closest airport to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Jessore Airport (JSR), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NE of CCU.
• In addition to being known as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport", another name for CCU is "নেতাজি সুভাষচন্দ্র বসু আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর".
• The furthest airport from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,276 miles (18,147 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) has 2 runways.
• In the financial year from April 2011 to March 2012, Kolkata airport served 10.3 million passengers, 85% which were travelling domestically.