Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Denver, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 307 miles (or 494 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 Denver 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Denver International Airport (DEN):

• The system's $186 million original construction costs grew by $1 million per day during months of modifications and repairs.
• "Mustang" has gotten mixed reviews.
• Denver International Airport (DEN) has 6 runways.
• Denver International Airport handled 52,556,359 passengers last year.
• Between February and August 2008, construction of an on-site, two-megawattsolar energy system took place.
• The closest airport to Denver International Airport (DEN) is Centennial Airport (APA), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSW of DEN.
• Airport officials say its large area contributes to DIA having the highest number of wildlife strikes of any airport in the United States.
• On September 25, 1994, the airport hosted a fly-in that drew several hundred general aviation aircraft, providing pilots with a unique opportunity to operate in and out of the new airport, and to wander around on foot looking at the ground-side facilities—including the baggage system, which was still under testing.
• The furthest airport from Denver International Airport (DEN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,877 miles (17,505 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The automated baggage system never worked as designed, and in August 2005 it became public knowledge that United would abandon the system, a decision that would save them $1 million per month in maintenance costs.
• Because of Denver International Airport's high elevation of 5,431 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DEN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DEN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• DIA's sixth runway is the longest commercial precision-instrument runway in North America with a length of 16,000 feet.