Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Nightmute, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Nightmute Airport (NME), Nightmute, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,714 miles (or 4,367 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 Nightmute 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 Nightmute 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):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

Facts about Nightmute Airport (NME):

• Nightmute Airport (NME) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nightmute Airport (NME) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,600 miles (17,059 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Nightmute Airport (NME) is Toksook Bay Airport (OOK), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WNW of NME.
• In addition to being known as "Nightmute Airport", another name for NME is "IGT".
• Because of Nightmute Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Nightmute 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.