Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Eilat, Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Eilat Airport (ETH), Eilat, Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,697 miles (or 10,777 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 Eilat 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 Eilat 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):

• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 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 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.

Facts about Eilat Airport (ETH):

• In addition to being known as "Eilat Airport", other names for ETH include "J. Hozman Airport" and "שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה אֵילַת".
• Eilat Airport (ETH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Eilat Airport (ETH) is King Hussein International Airport (AQJ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of ETH.
• The furthest airport from Eilat Airport (ETH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,807 miles (19,002 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Because of Eilat Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Eilat 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 the 1994 Peace Agreement between Israel and Jordan it was decided that operations were supposed to be transferred from Eilat Airport to Aqaba Airport.
• In August 2005, a Katyusha rocket fired from Jordan landed near a taxi traveling just 15 yards from the airport perimeter fence.
• On July 24, 2011 the Israeli cabinet approved the construction of Israel's second international airport to be built in Timna, 18 kilometers north of Eilat.