Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Portage Creek, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to PCA:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- PCA Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about PCA
- 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 PCA
- List of Nearest Airports to PCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from PCA
- List of Furthest Airports from PCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Portage Creek Airport (PCA), Portage Creek, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,475 miles (or 3,983 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 Portage Creek 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: |
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| 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: | PCA / PAOC |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Portage Creek, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 58°54'23"N by 157°42'39"W |
| Area Served: | Portage Creek, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 129 feet (39 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PCA |
| More Information: | PCA Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Portage Creek Airport (PCA):
- Portage Creek Airport (PCA) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Portage Creek Airport", another name for PCA is "A14".
- Because of Portage Creek Airport's relatively low elevation of 129 feet, planes can take off or land at Portage Creek 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 Portage Creek Airport (PCA) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,716 miles (17,246 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
- The closest airport to Portage Creek Airport (PCA) is Naknek Airport (NNK), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ESE of PCA.
