Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to KEF:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- KEF Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about KEF
- 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 KEF
- List of Nearest Airports to KEF
- Map of Furthest Airports from KEF
- List of Furthest Airports from KEF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,269 miles (or 5,261 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 Keflavík International 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 Keflavík International 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: | KEF / BIKF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland |
GPS Coordinates: | 63°59'5"N by 22°36'20"W |
Area Served: | Greater Reykjavík Area |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 171 feet (52 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from KEF |
More Information: | KEF Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- 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".
Facts about Keflavík International Airport (KEF):
- The closest airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Reykjavík Airport (RKV), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KEF.
- Because of Keflavík International Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Keflavík International 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 2014 the current terminal will be enlarged.
- Keflavík Airport only handles international flights, domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport.
- In addition to being known as "Keflavík International Airport", another name for KEF is "Keflavíkurflugvöllur".
- The 10,000-foot-long and 200-foot-wide runways are long enough to support NASA's Space Shuttle and also the Antonov An-225.
- The furthest airport from Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- The main carriers at Keflavík are Icelandair and WOW air, who make the airport their main hub.
- On 21 July 2013, a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, prototype aircraft 97005, made a belly landing during a test flight.
- Keflavík International Airport (KEF) has 2 runways.