Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tampere / Pirkkala, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP), Tampere / Pirkkala, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,561 miles (or 7,340 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 Tampere–Pirkkala 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 Tampere–Pirkkala 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):

• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP):

• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,971 miles (17,656 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport is located in Pirkkala, 7 NM south-west of Tampere city centre.
• The closest airport to Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) is Halli Airport (KEV), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NE of TMP.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport handled 466,671 passengers last year.
• Because of Tampere–Pirkkala Airport's relatively low elevation of 390 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampere–Pirkkala 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.
• Karhumäki Airways began to fly to Stockholm in the 1950s.
• In addition to being known as "Tampere–Pirkkala Airport", another name for TMP is "Tampere-Pirkkalan lentoasema".