Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tallinn, Estonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tallinn Airport (TLL), Tallinn, Estonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,695 miles (or 7,555 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 Tallinn 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 Tallinn 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.

Facts about Tallinn Airport (TLL):

• On 20 March 2013 the airport authorities announced a public procurement for constructing a new hangar complex.
• Because of Tallinn Airport's relatively low elevation of 131 feet, planes can take off or land at Tallinn 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 Tallinn Airport (TLL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) N of TLL.
• Tallinn Airport (TLL) currently has only 1 runway.
• As Tallinn is located nearest to Asia-Pacific of all EU capitals, Tallinn Airport has a major geographical advantage for establishing future long-haul flights between these two regions.
• The furthest airport from Tallinn Airport (TLL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Tallinn Airport", another name for TLL is "Tallinna lennujaam".
• The airport has also been used for military purposes.
• On 1 September 2013 the airport opened an automatic border control system, that should accelerate procedures for passengers travelling out of the Schengen area.
• The airport underwent a large expansion project between January 2006 and September 2008.