Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tel Aviv, Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sde Dov Airport (SDV), Tel Aviv, Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,537 miles (or 10,520 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 Sde Dov 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 Sde Dov 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 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Sde Dov Airport (SDV):

• The closest airport to Sde Dov Airport (SDV) is Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of SDV.
• In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the airport served as a base to the Israeli Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Sde Dov Airport", another name for SDV is "שדה דב مطار سدي دوف".
• Today, Sde Dov Airport mostly handles domestic flights within Israel, as well as light-aircraft activity and limited international flights, mostly to nearby Cyprus.
• Because of Sde Dov Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Sde Dov 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 furthest airport from Sde Dov Airport (SDV) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,669 miles (18,780 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Following the 1948 war the Arab orchards to the east of Tel Aviv were opened for development, and the military started using the Sde Dov airport on a regular basis.
• Sde Dov Airport (SDV) currently has only 1 runway.