Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shchyolkovo (Moscow Oblast), Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Chkalovsky Airport (CKL), Shchyolkovo (Moscow Oblast), Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,164 miles (or 8,311 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 Chkalovsky 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 Chkalovsky 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 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's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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 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.
• 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 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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.

Facts about Chkalovsky Airport (CKL):

• Chkalovsky Airport (CKL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Chkalovsky Airport's relatively low elevation of 499 feet, planes can take off or land at Chkalovsky 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 closest airport to Chkalovsky Airport (CKL) is Bykovo Airport (BKA), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) S of CKL.
• The furthest airport from Chkalovsky Airport (CKL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,712 miles (17,240 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Chkalovsky Airport", another name for CKL is "Чкаловский (аэропорт)".