Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), Lod (near Tel Aviv), Israel would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,546 miles (or 10,535 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 Ben Gurion 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 Ben Gurion 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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.

Facts about Ben Gurion Airport (TLV):

• Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) has 3 runways.
• The head office of El Al is located at Ben Gurion Airport, as is the head office of the Israel Airports Authority, and the head office of the Civil Aviation Authority.CAL Cargo Air Lines has its head office in the Airport City development of Ben Gurion.
• The closest airport to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Sde Dov Airport (SDV), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NW of TLV.
• The Airport City development, an office park, is located east of the main airport property.
• With passenger traffic projected to increase, plans were drawn in the 1980s and 90s for the extension of runways 03/21 and 08/26 as a means of alleviating some of Ben Gurion's safety and capacity concerns.
• Ben Gurion airport is considered one of the world's most secure airports, with a security force that includes Israel Police officers, IDF and Israel Border Police soldiers.
• In February 2006, the Israel Airports Authority announced plans to invest 4.3 million NIS in a new VIP wing for private jet passengers and crews, as well as others interested in avoiding the main terminal.
• Because of Ben Gurion Airport's relatively low elevation of 134 feet, planes can take off or land at Ben Gurion 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ben Gurion Airport", another name for TLV is "נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה בֵּן גּוּרְיוֹן".
• The furthest airport from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,672 miles (18,784 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.