Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kiryat Shmona (Qiryat Shemona), Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW), Kiryat Shmona (Qiryat Shemona), Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,493 miles (or 10,449 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 Kiryat Shmona 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 Kiryat Shmona 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.

Facts about Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW):

• Old terminal, permanently closed
• Because of Kiryat Shmona Airport's relatively low elevation of 376 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiryat Shmona 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.
• Tamir Airways announced that it would stop flying to Upper Galilee shortly before the Second Lebanon War broke out, but they changed their mind because they saw it as a "mission of national importance".
• The closest airport to Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) is Beirut Air Base (BEY), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of KSW.
• The furthest airport from Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,579 miles (18,635 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Kiryat Shemona and its airport in the background
• Kiryat Shmona Airport (KSW) currently has only 1 runway.