Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kaunas, Lithuania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Kaunas International Airport (KUN), Kaunas, Lithuania would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,923 miles (or 7,923 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 Kaunas 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 Kaunas International 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):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.

Facts about Kaunas International Airport (KUN):

• In addition to being known as "Kaunas International Airport", another name for KUN is "Kauno Oro uostas".
• Due to its central location in Lithuania, Kaunas Airport is easily accessible via nearby A6 highway/E262, which connects to the other main freeways in Lithuania A1 motorway and Via Baltica.
• Because of Kaunas International Airport's relatively low elevation of 256 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaunas 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.
• Kaunas International Airport (KUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kaunas International Airport (KUN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,242 miles (18,092 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Busiest airports by passenger traffic in the Baltic States
• The closest airport to Kaunas International Airport (KUN) is Vilnius International Airport (VNO), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) ESE of KUN.
• Ryanair operates its own maintenance hangar at Kaunas Airport, which launched operations in January 2013.
• The airport is on Eastern European Time.