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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), Jacksonville, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,499 miles (or 2,412 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 Jacksonville International 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):

• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• 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.

Facts about Jacksonville International Airport (JAX):

• A photo of a program from the dedication of Jacksonville International Airport in 1968
• Jacksonville International Airport has direct public transit service to Jacksonville Transportation Authority's bus network.
• The closest airport to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is Imeson FieldJacksonville Army AirfieldNaval Auxiliary Air Station Jacksonville #1 (IJX), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSE of JAX.
• Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) has 2 runways.
• Because of Jacksonville International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Jacksonville 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 new airport was slow to expand, only serving two million passengers a year by 1982, but it served over five million annually by 1999 and an expansion plan was approved in 2000.
• The furthest airport from Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is Kalbarri Airport (KAX), which is located 11,456 miles (18,436 kilometers) away in Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia.
• Jacksonville International Airport handled 5,605,934 passengers last year.
• Future plans call for expanding the newly built concourses by 2020 and possibly adding a people mover system to the airport, and connecting the airport with the onsite Clarion Hotel via a moving walkway.