Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Shimla Airport (SLV), Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,239 miles (or 11,650 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 Shimla 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 Shimla 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):

• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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 Shimla Airport (SLV):

• The furthest airport from Shimla Airport (SLV) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,961 miles (19,249 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Shimla Airport", another name for SLV is "शिमला हवाई अड्डा".
• Shimla Airport (SLV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shimla Airport (SLV) is Chandigarh Airport (IXC), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSW of SLV.
• Because of Shimla Airport's high elevation of 5,072 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.