Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kirensk Airport (KCK), Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,170 miles (or 8,321 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 Kirensk 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 Kirensk 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):

• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.

Facts about Kirensk Airport (KCK):

• Because of Kirensk Airport's relatively low elevation of 840 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirensk 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.
• Kirensk Airport (KCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ust-Kut Airport (UKX), which is located 108 miles (173 kilometers) SW of KCK.
• In addition to being known as "Kirensk Airport", another name for KCK is "Аэропорт Киренск".
• The furthest airport from Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Kirensk Airport (meaning Kirensk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,191 miles (19,619 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.