Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and New York City, New York, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and West 30th Street Heliport (JRA), New York City, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,492 miles (or 2,402 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 West 30th Street Heliport, 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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 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.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.

Facts about West 30th Street Heliport (JRA):

• The furthest airport from West 30th Street Heliport (JRA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,750 miles (18,910 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to West 30th Street Heliport (JRA) is East 34th Street Heliport (TSS), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) ESE of JRA.
• Because of West 30th Street Heliport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at West 30th Street Heliport 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.
• Tourist flights out of the 30th Street Heliport are scheduled to move to Downtown Manhattan Heliport on March 31, 2010 and the heliport itself is scheduled to relocate by on December 31, 2012 as a result of a court agreement between helicopter operators and Friends of Hudson River Park who took action to enforce the Hudson River Park Act which banned tourism flights from that location.