Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Rome, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA), Rome, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,290 miles (or 8,513 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 Ciampino–G. B. Pastine 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 Ciampino–G. B. Pastine 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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• 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 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 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.
• 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 Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA):

• The terminals were extended at the beginning of 2007.
• Ciampino Airport was opened in 1916 and is one of the oldest airports still in operation.
• In addition to being known as "Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport", other names for CIA include "Rome Ciampino Airport" and "Ciampino–Aeroporto Internazionale G. B. Pastine".
• The closest airport to Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) is Fiumicino – Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) W of CIA.
• Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport handled 4,749,251 passengers last year.
• Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport's relatively low elevation of 427 feet, planes can take off or land at Ciampino–G. B. Pastine 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 furthest airport from Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.