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):

• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• 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 Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP):

• There is a connection to Helsinki with one change of bus at Tampere coach station using the city bus service.
• 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.
• Low-cost Onnibus expressbus service to Helsinki and Turku leave from Pirkkala ABC gas station, located about 4 km north from the airport, near the intersection of road 308 and road 3/E12.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Tampere Airport was founded in 1936 in Härmälä located some 6 kilometres from the centre of Tampere.
• The closest airport to Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) is Halli Airport (KEV), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NE of TMP.
• In addition to being known as "Tampere–Pirkkala Airport", another name for TMP is "Tampere-Pirkkalan lentoasema".
• 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.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport handled 466,671 passengers last year.