Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Koyukuk, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Koyukuk Airport (KYU), Koyukuk, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,502 miles (or 4,027 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 Koyukuk 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 Koyukuk 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):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.

Facts about Koyukuk Airport (KYU):

• Koyukuk Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Koyukuk, a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Koyukuk Airport (KYU) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,304 miles (16,583 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Because of Koyukuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 149 feet, planes can take off or land at Koyukuk 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.
• The closest airport to Koyukuk Airport (KYU) is Nulato Airport (NUL), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SW of KYU.
• Koyukuk Airport (KYU) currently has only 1 runway.