Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mount Pleasant, Utah, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to MSD:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- MSD Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about MSD
- 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 MSD
- List of Nearest Airports to MSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from MSD
- List of Furthest Airports from MSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Mount Pleasant Airport (MSD), Mount Pleasant, Utah, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 537 miles (or 864 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 Mount Pleasant 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: | MSD / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Mount Pleasant, Utah, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°31'36"N by 111°28'33"W |
| Area Served: | Mount Pleasant, Utah |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Mount Pleasant |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5830 feet (1,777 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MSD |
| More Information: | MSD Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- 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.
- Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
- Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Mount Pleasant Airport (MSD):
- The furthest airport from Mount Pleasant Airport (MSD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,037 miles (17,762 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Mount Pleasant Airport (MSD) is Salina-Gunnison Airport (SBO), which is located 39 miles (64 kilometers) SSW of MSD.
- Because of Mount Pleasant Airport's high elevation of 5,830 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MSD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MSD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In addition to being known as "Mount Pleasant Airport", other names for MSD include "MSC" and "43U".
- Mount Pleasant Airport (MSD) currently has only 1 runway.
