Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Skiathos Island, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI), Skiathos Island, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,788 miles (or 9,315 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 Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’, 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 Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.

Facts about Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI):

• Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,358 miles (18,280 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ handled 265,773 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI) is Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) W of JSI.
• Because of the uneven terrain on the island of Skiathos, Skiathos Airport was created by reclaiming land from the sea between Skiathos island and the smaller island of Lazareta effectively joining the two islands into one larger island.
• In addition to being known as "Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’", another name for JSI is "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Σκιάθου ΄Α.Παπαδιαμάντης΄".
• However, it should be mentioned that both Olympic Air and Cyprus Airways make use of their larger Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 when operating direct flights from Athens International Airport, Thessaloniki and Larnaca.
• Some flights departing Skiathos for British airports cannot take sufficient fuel to complete the trip without stopping at an intermediate airport to refuel, due to the limiting length of the runways.
• Because of Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’'s relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ 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.