Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Rodrigues Island, Mauritius:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), Rodrigues Island, Mauritius would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,579 miles (or 17,026 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 Sir Gaëtan Duval 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 Sir Gaëtan Duval 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 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG):

• The closest airport to Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), which is located 371 miles (598 kilometers) W of RRG.
• Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) is Ciudad Constitución Airport (CUA), which is located 11,950 miles (19,232 kilometers) away in Ciudad Constitución, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• Because of Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Sir Gaëtan Duval 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.