Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and San Diego, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to SDM:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- SDM Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about SDM
- 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 SDM
- List of Nearest Airports to SDM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDM
- List of Furthest Airports from SDM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,096 miles (or 1,763 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport, 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: | SDM / KSDM |
| Airport Name: | Brown Field Municipal Airport |
| Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 32°34'19"N by 116°58'49"W |
| Area Served: | San Diego, California |
| Operator/Owner: | City of San Diego |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 526 feet (160 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SDM |
| More Information: | SDM Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
- 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.
- On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain less than six miles east of the airport.
- Brown Field is 1.5 miles north of the US/Mexico border in the Otay Mesa Community of the City of San Diego.
- In 1946 the Navy decommissioned Brown Field and turned it over to San Diego County.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
