Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Salinas, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC), Salinas, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,481 miles (or 5,603 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 General Ulpiano Paez 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 General Ulpiano Paez 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):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC):

• The closest airport to General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) is José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) E of SNC.
• Because of General Ulpiano Paez Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at General Ulpiano Paez 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.
• General Ulpiano Paez Airport is a public/military joint-use airport located near Salinas, a city in the province of Santa Elena in Ecuador.
• General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "General Ulpiano Paez Airport", another name for SNC is "Aeropuerto General Ulpiano Paez".
• During World War II the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending the South American coastline and the Panama Canal against Japanese submarines.
• The furthest airport from General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC) is Aek Godang Airport (AEG), which is nearly antipodal to General Ulpiano Paez Airport (meaning General Ulpiano Paez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aek Godang Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,914 kilometers) away in Padang Sidempuan, Indonesia.