Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Split, Croatia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Split Airport (SPU), Split, Croatia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,321 miles (or 8,564 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 Split 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 Split 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):

• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 Split Airport (SPU):

• Split Airport (SPU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Expansion of Split Airport is happening in 3 phases.
• Because of Split Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Split 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 closest airport to Split Airport (SPU) is Bol Airport (BWK), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SE of SPU.
• In the last few years the summer peaks activity called for an expansion of the airport s capacity.
• Split Airport handled 1,581,734 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Split Airport", another name for SPU is "Zračna luka Split".
• In 1991 the passenger figures dropped almost to zero, as the war in the former Yugoslavia broke out.
• The furthest airport from Split Airport (SPU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,800 miles (18,990 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.