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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.

Facts about Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):

• In 1979 Piedmont Airlines chose Charlotte as the hub for its expanding route network.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport handled 41,228,372 passengers last year.
• Two years later in 1969, a new enclosed concourse was built parallel to the center pier.
• The city received a $200,000 grant from the Works Progress Administration in 1930 to establish Charlotte's first municipal airport.
• A major renovation project in the late 1960s expanded the facility considerably.
• 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.
• In 1990, Lufthansa began Boeing 747 service to Germany.
• 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.
• 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 1973, Eastern added two more gates to the end of its west concourse.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) has 4 runways.
• Construction involved two phases.