Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and San Diego, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to NKX:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- NKX Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about NKX
- 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 NKX
- List of Nearest Airports to NKX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NKX
- List of Furthest Airports from NKX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and MCAS Miramar, (NKX), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,086 miles (or 1,748 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 MCAS Miramar,, 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: | NKX / KNKX |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°52'4"N by 117°8'30"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 478 feet (146 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NKX |
More Information: | NKX Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
- 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.
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
Facts about MCAS Miramar, (NKX):
- The furthest airport from MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,530 miles (18,556 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- MCAS Miramar, (NKX) has 3 runways.
- Only the western half of Miramar’s facilities were put to use, and the old station literally began to deteriorate, with many buildings sold as scrap.
- In addition to being known as "MCAS Miramar,", another name for NKX is "Mitscher Field".
- Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St.
- Because of MCAS Miramar,'s relatively low elevation of 478 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS Miramar, 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 MCAS Miramar, (NKX) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) S of NKX.
- In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Marine Corps Air Station Tustin be closed down and that NAS Miramar be transferred to the Marine Corps.