Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Natal, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT), Natal, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,431 miles (or 8,740 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 Augusto Severo 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 Augusto Severo 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):

• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.

Facts about Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT):

• Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT) has 3 runways.
• When all commercial operations move to São Gonçalo do Amarante, Augusto Severo will continue to be used by the Natal Air Force Base.
• Due to the fact that the capacity of the airport does not meet the present demand of passengers, the brand-new Greater Natal International Airport was built at São Gonçalo do Amarante.
• Augusto Severo International Airport handled 2,408,206 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT) is Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport (JPA), which is located 88 miles (142 kilometers) SSE of NAT.
• The furthest airport from Augusto Severo International Airport (NAT) is Falalop Airfield (ULI), which is located 11,994 miles (19,303 kilometers) away in Falalop Island, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
• Some of its facilities are shared with the Natal Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• Because of Augusto Severo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 167 feet, planes can take off or land at Augusto Severo 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.
• In addition to being known as "Augusto Severo International Airport", another name for NAT is "Aeroporto Internacional Augusto Severo".