Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mangalore, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mangalore Airport (IXE), Mangalore, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,489 miles (or 13,662 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 Mangalore 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 Mangalore 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):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.

Facts about Mangalore Airport (IXE):

• Construction of a new air traffic control complex is expected to be over by June 2013 to handle the increasing traffic at the airport.
• On 28 September 2012 an Airbus A310, a first of aircraft in that class, landed for the first time at Mangalore.
• The airport is near Bajpe, around 20 km northeast of the city centre.
• The furthest airport from Mangalore Airport (IXE) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,417 miles (18,373 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Taxis ply between airport and city of Mangalore.
• The closest airport to Mangalore Airport (IXE) is Mysore Airport (MYQ), which is located 129 miles (208 kilometers) ESE of IXE.
• Because of Mangalore Airport's relatively low elevation of 337 feet, planes can take off or land at Mangalore 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.
• Mangalore Airport (IXE) has 2 runways.
• As of October 2012, it has facilities for handling 400 passengers in the domestic arrival hall and 150 international passengers in the international hall.
• In 2007–08 the airport handled 10,019 aircraft movements as compared to 6,268 the previous year.
• On 11 July 2011 at the meeting of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, it was informed that the Karnataka government will be issuing preliminary notification for the acquisition of land for the extension of runway.