Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fresno, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), Fresno, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,016 miles (or 1,635 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 Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old), 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):

• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH):

• Fresno Chandler Executive Airport covers 200 acres at an elevation of 279 feet above mean sea level.
• The United States Army Air Corps Southwest Air District took over the airport in early 1941 while nearby Hammer Army Airfield was being built.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,334 miles (18,241 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old)'s relatively low elevation of 279 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) 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.
• Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Chandler is a general aviation airport.
• The closest airport to Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH) is Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of FCH.