Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Salalah, Oman:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Salalah Airport (SLL), Salalah, Oman would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,970 miles (or 12,827 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 Salalah 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 Salalah 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.

Facts about Salalah Airport (SLL):

• Salalah Airport (SLL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Salalah Airport (SLL) is Al Ghaydha Airport (AAY), which is located 140 miles (225 kilometers) WSW of SLL.
• Design of the airport takes to account future development projects and allows expansions to cater up to 6 million passengers per year when required.
• Salalah Airport opened in 1977.
• Because of Salalah Airport's relatively low elevation of 73 feet, planes can take off or land at Salalah 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 airport is located in the Dhofar Governorate in the southern part of the Sultanate.
• It is also expected that tourism in this area will increase steadily over the next 20 years, adding more to the strain on the airport network.
• In addition to being known as "Salalah Airport", another name for SLL is "مطار صلالة".
• The furthest airport from Salalah Airport (SLL) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,720 miles (18,862 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.