Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to LRU:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- LRU Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about LRU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LRU
- List of Nearest Airports to LRU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LRU
- List of Furthest Airports from LRU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Las Cruces International Airport (LRU), Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 845 miles (or 1,360 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 Las Cruces International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LRU / KLRU |
Airport Name: | Las Cruces International Airport |
Location: | Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°17'21"N by 106°55'18"W |
Area Served: | Las Cruces, New Mexico |
Operator/Owner: | City of Las Cruces |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4457 feet (1,358 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from LRU |
More Information: | LRU Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
- 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.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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 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 Las Cruces International Airport (LRU):
- This landing rights airport is on a Mesa overlooking the Mesilla Valley.
- The closest airport to Las Cruces International Airport (LRU) is Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SE of LRU.
- Las Cruces International Airport (LRU) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Las Cruces International Airport (LRU) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,383 miles (18,319 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Las Cruces International Airport is a city owned, public airport nine miles west of Las Cruces, in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.
- Because of Las Cruces International Airport's high elevation of 4,457 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LRU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LRU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.