Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Latacunga, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), Latacunga, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,458 miles (or 5,566 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 Cotopaxi 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 Cotopaxi 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):

• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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 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.

Facts about Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX):

• In addition to being known as "Cotopaxi International Airport", other names for LTX include "Aeropuerto Internacional Cotopaxi" and "SELT".
• Because of Cotopaxi International Airport's high elevation of 9,205 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LTX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LTX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) is Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (PKU), which is nearly antipodal to Cotopaxi International Airport (meaning Cotopaxi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) is Chachoan Airport (ATF), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) S of LTX.