Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Helsinki / Malmi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), Helsinki / Malmi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,654 miles (or 7,490 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.

Facts about Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM):

• Nowadays Malmi Airport is in general aviation use.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki-Malmi Airport", another name for HEM is "Helsinki-Malmin lentoasemaHelsingfors-Malm flygplats".
• The furthest airport from Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Helsinki-Malmi Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki-Malmi 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 Winter War interrupted civil aviation at Malmi, and the Airport was taken over by the Finnish Air Force.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport is an airport in the city of Helsinki, Finland, located in the district of Malmi, 5.4 NM north north-east of the city centre.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport handled 50 passengers last year.
• For a long time, the City of Helsinki has had plans to close the airport in order to use the area for construction of new residential zones, but this decision had been debated and deferred for many years.
• The closest airport to Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Helsinki Airport (HEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNW of HEM.
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered in June 2005 from the Civil Aviation Administration a new assessment of the alternatives and costs.