Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to PSM:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- PSM Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about PSM
- 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 PSM
- List of Nearest Airports to PSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from PSM
- List of Furthest Airports from PSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM), Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,605 miles (or 2,583 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 Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, 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: | PSM / KPSM |
Airport Name: | Portsmouth International Airport at Pease |
Location: | Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°4'41"N by 70°49'23"W |
Area Served: | Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
Operator/Owner: | Pease Development Authority |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 100 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PSM |
More Information: | PSM Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
- 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.
- 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.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
Facts about Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM):
- The airport served as a hub for Pan Am from 1998 until 2005, when all mainline Pan Am flights at the airport were suspended.
- Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport is located within the Pease International Tradeport, a result of the ongoing redevelopment of the former Pease Air Force Base which was closed under Base Realignment and Closure Commission action in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- Because of Portsmouth International Airport at Pease's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease 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 Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,729 miles (18,875 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM) is Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (SFM), which is located 23 miles (36 kilometers) NNE of PSM.
- Portsmouth International Airport at Pease covers an area of 3,000 acres at an elevation of 100 feet above mean sea level.