Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,780 miles (or 2,865 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 Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, 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 deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.

Facts about Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE):

• The closest airport to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) is Pompano Beach Airpark (PPM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of FXE.
• The airport serves over 250,000 aircraft operations per year, making it the eighth busiest General Aviation center in the United States.
• The furthest airport from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,584 miles (18,642 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Lauderdale Executive 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.
• Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) has 2 runways.
• The airport was built in 1941 to train Naval Aviators during World War II, and named West Prospect Satellite Field.