Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Niles, Michigan, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to NLE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- NLE Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about NLE
- 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 NLE
- List of Nearest Airports to NLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from NLE
- List of Furthest Airports from NLE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE), Niles, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 865 miles (or 1,392 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 Jerry Tyler Memorial 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: |
|
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: | NLE / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Niles, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°50'26"N by 86°13'33"W |
Area Served: | City of Niles, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | City of Niles, Michigan |
Airport Type: | Public Use |
Elevation: | 750 feet (229 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NLE |
More Information: | NLE Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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".
- 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.
- 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.
- The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- 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.
Facts about Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE):
- In addition to being known as "Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport", another name for NLE is "3TR".
- The furthest airport from Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE) is South Bend International Airport (SBN), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) SSW of NLE.
- Because of Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 750 feet, planes can take off or land at Jerry Tyler Memorial 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.
- Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE) has 2 runways.