Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Rayong, Thailand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to UTP:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- UTP Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about UTP
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to UTP
- List of Nearest Airports to UTP
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTP
- List of Furthest Airports from UTP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP), Rayong, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,229 miles (or 13,243 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 U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya 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 U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | UTP / VTBU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rayong, Thailand |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°40'46"N by 101°0'17"E |
Area Served: | Rayong, Thailand |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 42 feet (13 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTP |
More Information: | UTP Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
- In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
- 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.
Facts about U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP):
- On 28 October 1977, a Douglas DC-3 of Air Vietnam was hijacked to U-Tapao International Airport where the four hijackers surrendered.
- The closeness of the U-Tapao USAF base to Pattaya during the Vietnam War era is frequently cited as one of the main reasons for the development of prostitution in that town.
- Because of U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya 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 closest airport to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) is Hua Hin Airport (HHQ), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) W of UTP.
- U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), which is nearly antipodal to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (meaning U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Jorge Chávez International Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,798 kilometers) away in Callao (near Lima), Peru.
- In addition to being known as "U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport", another name for UTP is "ท่าอากาศยานนานาชาติ อู่ตะเภา-ระยอง-พัทยา".