Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Skopje, Macedonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Skopje Airport (SKP), Skopje, Macedonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,575 miles (or 8,971 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 Skopje 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 Skopje 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 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 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 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 Skopje Airport (SKP):

• Skopje Airport (SKP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Skopje Airport's relatively low elevation of 781 feet, planes can take off or land at Skopje 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 Skopje Airport (SKP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,514 miles (18,530 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Skopje Airport", other names for SKP include "Аеродром Скопје" and "Aerodrom Skopje".
• Skopje Airport handled 98,440 passengers last year.
• Skopje Airport is the larger and busier of the two international airports in the Republic of Macedonia, with the other being the Ohrid Airport.
• In December 2006 the government of the Republic of Macedonia announced plans to rename the airport after Alexander the Great, sparking a renewed diplomatic spat with Greece, because both countries consider Alexander the Great as part of their own heritage.
• The closest airport to Skopje Airport (SKP) is Pristina International Airport "Adem Jashari" (PRN), which is located 52 miles (84 kilometers) NW of SKP.