Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Patna, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT), Patna, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,591 miles (or 12,216 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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 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 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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 Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT):

• The closest airport to Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) is Muzaffarpur Airport (MZU), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) NNE of PAT.
• Because of Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna 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.
• The furthest airport from Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,532 miles (18,560 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport", another name for PAT is "जय प्रकाश नारायण हवाई अड्डे".
• Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport Patna Airport (PAT) currently has only 1 runway.