Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Surat, Gujarat, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Surat Airport (STV), Surat, Gujarat, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,920 miles (or 12,746 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 Surat 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 Surat 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Surat Airport (STV):

• In addition to being known as "Surat Airport", another name for STV is "સુરત એરપોર્ટ".
• The furthest airport from Surat Airport (STV) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,997 miles (19,308 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Surat Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Surat 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.
• Until 2007, Surat was the only city in the world with a population of over 4.6 million people without a functioning airport.
• The closest airport to Surat Airport (STV) is Daman Airport (NMB), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) S of STV.