Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA), João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,507 miles (or 8,863 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 Presidente Castro Pinto 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 Presidente Castro Pinto 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 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's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.

Facts about Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA):

• Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport handled 1,230,230 passengers last year.
• Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA) is Presidente João Suassuna Airport (CPV), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) W of JPA.
• Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport is the airport serving João Pessoa, Brazil located in the adjoining municipality of Bayeux.
• Because of Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Presidente Castro Pinto 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.
• In addition to being known as "Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport", another name for JPA is "Aeroporto Internacional Presidente Castro Pinto".
• The airport is located 12 km from downtown João Pessoa.
• The furthest airport from Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA) is Falalop Airfield (ULI), which is nearly antipodal to Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (meaning Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Falalop Airfield), and is located 12,026 miles (19,354 kilometers) away in Falalop Island, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.