Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,169 miles (or 8,319 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR):

• The closest airport to Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Gov. Dix-Sept Rosado Airport (MVF), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) SE of FOR.
• In addition to being known as "Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport", another name for FOR is "Aeroporto Internacional Pinto Martins – Fortaleza".
• Some of its facilities are shared with the Fortaleza Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• Because of Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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 2012 the airport was ranked 8th in terms of cargo handled in Brazil, placing it amongst the busiest airports in the country.
• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport handled 5,952,629 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Batom Airport (BXM), which is located 11,999 miles (19,310 kilometers) away in Batom, Indonesia.
• Since January 7, 1974 the airport is operated by Infraero and in 1997 it was upgraded to international category.
• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located 6 km south of downtown Fortaleza.