Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR), Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,295 miles (or 2,085 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF), the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.

Facts about Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR):

• The closest airport to Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNW of OZR.
• Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,214 miles (18,047 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)", other names for OZR include "Cairns Army Airfield" and "Fort Rucker".
• Because of Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)'s relatively low elevation of 301 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) 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.
• Cairns is the busiest airfield in the Army, training large numbers of Army aviators both day and night with an average annual traffic count of approximately 240,000 movements.