Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to PXO:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- PXO Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about PXO
- 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 PXO
- List of Nearest Airports to PXO
- Map of Furthest Airports from PXO
- List of Furthest Airports from PXO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Porto Santo Airport (PXO), Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,527 miles (or 7,285 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 Porto Santo 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 Porto Santo 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: |
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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: | PXO / LPPS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Porto Santo, Madeira, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°4'14"N by 16°20'58"W |
Area Served: | Porto Santo Island |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 338 feet (103 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PXO |
More Information: | PXO Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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 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.
- The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Porto Santo Airport (PXO):
- Because of Porto Santo Airport's relatively low elevation of 338 feet, planes can take off or land at Porto Santo 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 closest airport to Porto Santo Airport (PXO) is Madeira Airport (FNC), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) SW of PXO.
- The furthest airport from Porto Santo Airport (PXO) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to Porto Santo Airport (meaning Porto Santo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,150 miles (19,553 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
- In 1959, its runway was built with an initial length of 2,000 m.
- In addition to being known as "Porto Santo Airport", another name for PXO is "Aeroporto de Porto Santo".
- Porto Santo Airport handled 106,592 passengers last year.
- Porto Santo Airport (PXO) currently has only 1 runway.