Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mercedes, Corrientes, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mercedes Airport (MDX), Mercedes, Corrientes, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,810 miles (or 9,351 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 Mercedes 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 Mercedes 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 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".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 Mercedes Airport (MDX):

• In addition to being known as "Mercedes Airport", other names for MDX include "Mercedes Airport (Mercedes)" and "Aeropuerto Mercedes".
• The furthest airport from Mercedes Airport (MDX) is Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB), which is nearly antipodal to Mercedes Airport (meaning Mercedes Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ningbo Lishe International Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
• Mercedes Airport (MDX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mercedes Airport's relatively low elevation of 351 feet, planes can take off or land at Mercedes 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.
• The closest airport to Mercedes Airport (MDX) is Curuzú Cuatiá Airport (UZU), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) S of MDX.