Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tambacounda, Senegal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Tambacounda Airport (TUD), Tambacounda, Senegal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,532 miles (or 8,903 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 Tambacounda 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 Tambacounda 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 Tambacounda Airport (TUD):

• The furthest airport from Tambacounda Airport (TUD) is Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), which is nearly antipodal to Tambacounda Airport (meaning Tambacounda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Vanua Lava Airport), and is located 12,357 miles (19,886 kilometers) away in Sola, Vanua Lava, Torba Province, Vanuatu.
• Tambacounda Airport (TUD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tambacounda Airport (TUD) is Simenti Airport (SMY), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) SSE of TUD.
• Because of Tambacounda Airport's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Tambacounda 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.