Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Los Angeles, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,080 miles (or 1,739 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 relatively short distance between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Los Angeles International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.

Facts about Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):

• In addition to these terminals, there are 2,000,000 square feet of cargo facilities at LAX, and a heliport operated by Bravo Aviation.
• The furthest airport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,487 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States.
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has 4 runways.
• In the new terminal area west of Sepulveda Blvd that started opening in 1961, each terminal had a satellite building out in the middle of the tarmac, reached by underground tunnels from the ticketing area.
• Before the 1930s, existing airports used a two-letter abbreviation based on the weather stations at the airports.
• Los Angeles International Airport handled 66,667,619 passengers last year.
• Mines Field did not extend west of Sepulveda Boulevard.
• Because of Los Angeles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Los Angeles 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.
• LAX has been a hub for TWA, Air California, Braniff International, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Pacific Southwest Airlines, US Airways, Western Airlines, and the Flying Tiger Line.
• The closest airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) ESE of LAX.