Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Puerto Natales, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), Puerto Natales, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,867 miles (or 11,051 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 Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield, 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 Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield. 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):

• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT):

• In addition to being known as "Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield", other names for PNT include "Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (Puerto Natales)" and "Aeródromo Teniente Julio Gallardo".
• The furthest airport from Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) is Baikal International Airport (UUD), which is nearly antipodal to Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (meaning Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Baikal International Airport), and is located 12,427 miles (20,000 kilometers) away in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia.
• Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) is Lago Argentino Airport (ING), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of PNT.
• Because of Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield's relatively low elevation of 217 feet, planes can take off or land at Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield 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.