Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF), Jacksonville, Arkansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 862 miles (or 1,387 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 Little Rock Air Force Base, 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.

Facts about Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF):

• In addition to being known as "Little Rock Air Force Base", another name for LRF is "Little Rock AFB".
• The furthest airport from Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,887 miles (17,521 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Little Rock AFB is the C-130 training base for the Department of Defense, training C-130 pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters from all branches of the US military in tactical airlift and aerial delivery.
• The closest airport to Little Rock Air Force Base (LRF) is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) SSW of LRF.
• On 1 January 1976, the 189 TRG transferred being a TAC-gained unit to a SAC-gained unit when it converted to the KC-135 Stratotanker and was redesignated the 189th Air Refueling Group, becoming one of the first Air National Guard units to be assigned to Strategic Air Command with a concomitant requirement to maintain a 24-hour alert force at Little Rock as well as deployments to support worldwide tanker task forces.
• In 1960, the Air Force announced that Little Rock Air Force Base would house 18 Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles located throughout the state of Arkansas.