Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Medan, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to MES:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- MES Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about MES
- 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 MES
- List of Nearest Airports to MES
- Map of Furthest Airports from MES
- List of Furthest Airports from MES
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,876 miles (or 14,284 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 Polonia 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 Polonia International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | MES / WIMM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Medan, Indonesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 3°33'29"N by 98°40'18"E |
Area Served: | Medan |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 114 feet (35 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from MES |
More Information: | MES Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
- The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
- 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.
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- 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.
- An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
- To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):
- After the ferry flights were completed, all of the airport activity officially shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport.
- Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia 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.
- The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
- By the time the news had arrived, it was too late to prepare a proper landing strip at Polonia.
- In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
- The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
- The airport is now closed to commercial aviation and replaced by Kuala Namu International Airport.
- The airport's name is taken from the plantation area owned by a Pole, Baron Michalski in which it is situated.