Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Pretoria, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to PRY:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- PRY Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about PRY
- 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 PRY
- List of Nearest Airports to PRY
- Map of Furthest Airports from PRY
- List of Furthest Airports from PRY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Wonderboom Airport (PRY), Pretoria, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,449 miles (or 15,206 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 Wonderboom 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 Wonderboom Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
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: | PRY / FAWB |
Airport Name: | Wonderboom Airport |
Location: | Pretoria, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°39'12"S by 28°13'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | City of Pretoria |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4095 feet (1,248 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PRY |
More Information: | PRY Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
- An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
- 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.
- 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
Facts about Wonderboom Airport (PRY):
- Because of Wonderboom Airport's high elevation of 4,095 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PRY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PRY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In 1965, the airport was extensively extended, with a new terminal building and hangars being constructed as well as the runway being extended.
- The furthest airport from Wonderboom Airport (PRY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Wonderboom Airport (meaning Wonderboom Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Wonderboom Airport (PRY) is Grand Central Airport (GCJ), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) SSW of PRY.
- Wonderboom Airport (PRY) has 2 runways.
- In 2007, plans were mooted by the City of Pretoria for scheduled passenger service from Wonderboom Airport.