Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ratnagiri, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ratnagiri Airport (RTC), Ratnagiri, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,205 miles (or 13,205 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 Ratnagiri 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 Ratnagiri 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):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.

Facts about Ratnagiri Airport (RTC):

• In addition to being known as "Ratnagiri Airport", another name for RTC is "रत्नागिरी विमानतळ".
• Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ratnagiri Airport is a public airport located in Ratnagiri, in the Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, India.
• The closest airport to Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) is Kolhapur Airport (KLH), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ESE of RTC.
• The furthest airport from Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,714 miles (18,851 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The Indian Coast Guard have taken over the airstrip at Ratnagiri and will develop it into its first full-fledged air station in Maharashtra.
• Because of Ratnagiri Airport's relatively low elevation of 305 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratnagiri 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.