Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jyväskylä, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jyväskylä Airport (JYV), Jyväskylä, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,550 miles (or 7,322 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 Jyväskylä 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 Jyväskylä 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

Facts about Jyväskylä Airport (JYV):

• The closest airport to Jyväskylä Airport (JYV) is Halli Airport (KEV), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) SW of JYV.
• Jyväskylä Airport (JYV) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Jyväskylä Airport's relatively low elevation of 459 feet, planes can take off or land at Jyväskylä 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.
• Jyväskylä Airport handled 88,608 passengers last year.
• On August 2, 2010, Finncomm Airlines announced it will stop its service between Helsinki and Jyväskylä on August 16, 2010.
• The furthest airport from Jyväskylä Airport (JYV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,875 miles (17,502 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Jyväskylä Airport is an airport in Jyväskylä, Finland.
• In addition to being known as "Jyväskylä Airport", another name for JYV is "Jyväskylän lentoasema".