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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV), Noorvik, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,612 miles (or 4,203 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 Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial 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 Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.

Facts about Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV):

• Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,251 miles (16,497 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• In addition to being known as "Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport", another name for ORV is "D76".
• The closest airport to Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV) is Bob Baker Memorial Airport (IAN), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NE of ORV.
• Because of Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at Robert (Bob) Curtis 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.