Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ushuaia International Airport (USH), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,137 miles (or 11,487 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 Ushuaia International 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 Ushuaia International 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):

• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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 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 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.

Facts about Ushuaia International Airport (USH):

• Ushuaia International Airport is located 4 km south of the center of Ushuaia, a city on the island of Tierra del Fuego in the Tierra del Fuego Province of Argentina.
• Because of Ushuaia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Ushuaia International 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 furthest airport from Ushuaia International Airport (USH) is Chita Kadala (HTA), which is nearly antipodal to Ushuaia International Airport (meaning Ushuaia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chita Kadala), and is located 12,231 miles (19,684 kilometers) away in Chita, Russia.
• The closest airport to Ushuaia International Airport (USH) is Hermes Quijada International Airport (RGA), which is located 77 miles (123 kilometers) NNE of USH.
• In addition to being known as "Ushuaia International Airport", another name for USH is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Ushuaia".
• Ushuaia International Airport (USH) currently has only 1 runway.