Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Galle, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to KCT:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- KCT Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about KCT
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to KCT
- List of Nearest Airports to KCT
- Map of Furthest Airports from KCT
- List of Furthest Airports from KCT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Koggala Airport (KCT), Galle, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,966 miles (or 14,429 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 Koggala 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 Koggala Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KCT / VCCK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Galle, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 5°59'38"N by 80°19'14"E |
Operator/Owner: | Sri Lanka Air Force |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from KCT |
More Information: | KCT Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
- The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
- 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.
Facts about Koggala Airport (KCT):
- Koggala continued as a Sri Lanka Air Force base.
- After the Japanese occupied the Malay Peninsula in 1942, the QEA/Imperial Airways flight from London to Sydney lost Singapore, its refueling point between Calcutta and Perth, Western Australia.
- The furthest airport from Koggala Airport (KCT) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,683 miles (18,802 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- Because of Koggala Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Koggala 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 "Koggala Airport", another name for KCT is "කොග්ගල ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
- The closest airport to Koggala Airport (KCT) is Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) ENE of KCT.