Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kars, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kars Airport (KSY), Kars, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,219 miles (or 10,008 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 Kars 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 Kars 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Kars Airport (KSY):

• Because of Kars Airport's high elevation of 5,889 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KSY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KSY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Kars Airport (KSY) is Shirak International Airport (LWN), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) ENE of KSY.
• In addition to being known as "Kars Airport", another name for KSY is "Kars Havaalanı".
• Kars Airport (KSY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kars Airport (KSY) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,224 miles (18,063 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In 2006, Kars Airport served 2,352 aircraft and 270,052 passengers.