Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ), Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,343 miles (or 10,208 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 Astor Piazzolla 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 Astor Piazzolla 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.

Facts about Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ):

• The existing terminal building was constructed in 1978 for the FIFA World Cup.
• The furthest airport from Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), which is nearly antipodal to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (meaning Astor Piazzolla International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Weihai Dashuibo Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Weihai, Shandong, China.
• Also known as Mar del Plata Airport, it provides domestic flights on Austral Líneas Aéreas, Sol Líneas Aéreas, and Líneas Aéreas del Estado.Aerolíneas Argentinas used to fly to this airport, their services are now performed by Austral Airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Astor Piazzolla International Airport", another name for MDQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Mar del Plata "Ástor Piazzolla"".
• Because of Astor Piazzolla International Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Astor Piazzolla 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.
• Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Miramar Airport (MJR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of MDQ.