Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Charlotte, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,323 miles (or 2,129 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 Charlotte Douglas International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):

• The airport plans to extend Concourse E by 120 feet to accommodate additional aircraft.
• Because of Charlotte Douglas International Airport's relatively low elevation of 748 feet, planes can take off or land at Charlotte Douglas 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.
• In 1990, Lufthansa began Boeing 747 service to Germany.
• In 1954 a 70,000-square-foot passenger terminal opened and the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of former Charlotte Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport handled 41,228,372 passengers last year.
• In 1979 Piedmont Airlines chose Charlotte as the hub for its expanding route network.
• On July 16, 2013 the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill, introduced by state Senator Bob Rucho in February 2013, transferring possession of the airport to a 13-member regional authority.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,521 miles (18,541 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is Wilgrove Air Park (QWG), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) W of CLT.