Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fort Worth, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH), Fort Worth, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 843 miles (or 1,356 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, 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):

• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• 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".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH):

• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base", another name for FWH is "Carswell Field".
• The base was named after Medal of Honor recipient Major Horace S.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of FWH.
• The base retained the name Carswell Air Force Base until 1993.
• NAS Fort Worth JRB units schedule a variety of airspace.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On September 20, 2009, the airport was used as a refueling stop for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft piggybacking the Space Shuttle Discovery back to the Kennedy Space Center from Amarillo after STS-128.