Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to COS:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- COS Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about COS
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to COS
- List of Nearest Airports to COS
- Map of Furthest Airports from COS
- List of Furthest Airports from COS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 378 miles (or 609 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | COS / KCOS |
Airport Name: | City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport |
Location: | Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°48'20"N by 104°42'2"W |
Area Served: | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6187 feet (1,886 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from COS |
More Information: | COS Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
- 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 City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS):
- Reached via Milton Proby Parkway, the terminal consists of two concourses.
- The closest airport to City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is United States Air Force Academy (AFF), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of COS.
- Because of City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,187 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at COS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make COS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In 1966 a new terminal was built on the west side of the runways, just east of Powers Boulevard.
- City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,940 miles (17,606 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Since September 2011 the airport terminal has been under renovation, that includes reconstruction of the TSA checkpoint to support full body scanners, expansion of office space behind the ticket counters, and new facilities for automated baggage screening.