Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Pisa, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Pisa International Airport (PSA), Pisa, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,118 miles (or 8,237 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 Pisa International 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 Pisa International 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.

Facts about Pisa International Airport (PSA):

• Because of Pisa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Pisa International 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.
• Pisa International Airport (PSA) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Pisa International Airport (PSA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Pisa International Airport (meaning Pisa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,095 miles (19,465 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 6 feet above mean sea level.
• Pisa International Airport, formerly Galileo Galilei Airport and San Giusto Airport is an airport located in Pisa, Italy.
• In addition to being known as "Pisa International Airport", another name for PSA is "Aeroporto Internazionale di Pisa".
• Pisa International Airport handled 4,494,915 passengers last year.
• Besides civilian operations, the airport is also used extensively by the Aeronautica Militare and is a base for, amongst others, the C-130 Hercules and C-27J Spartan transport aircraft.
• The closest airport to Pisa International Airport (PSA) is Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) ENE of PSA.