Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fria, Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fria Airport (FIG), Fria, Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,697 miles (or 9,169 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 Fria 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 Fria 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):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.

Facts about Fria Airport (FIG):

• The closest airport to Fria Airport (FIG) is Conakry International Airport (CKY), which is located 54 miles (86 kilometers) S of FIG.
• Fria Airport (FIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Fria Airport's relatively low elevation of 499 feet, planes can take off or land at Fria 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.
• The furthest airport from Fria Airport (FIG) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Fria Airport (meaning Fria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,621 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.