Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Iquique, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), Iquique, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,929 miles (or 7,933 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 Diego Aracena 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 Diego Aracena 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):

• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ):

• Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Diego Aracena International Airport", another name for IQQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Diego Aracena".
• The closest airport to Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is located 150 miles (241 kilometers) S of IQQ.
• Because of Diego Aracena International Airport's relatively low elevation of 154 feet, planes can take off or land at Diego Aracena 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.
• The furthest airport from Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is nearly antipodal to Diego Aracena International Airport (meaning Diego Aracena International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zhanjiang Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China.