Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Volos, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL), Volos, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,763 miles (or 9,275 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 Nea Anchialos National 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 Nea Anchialos National 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 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.

Facts about Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL):

• In addition to being known as "Nea Anchialos National Airport", other names for VOL include "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Νέας Αγχιάλου", "Volos Central Greece Airport" and "Volos Nea Anchialos Airport of Central Greece".
• Nea Anchialos National Airport handled 92,574 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,394 miles (18,337 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Nea Anchialos National Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at Nea Anchialos National 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 Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL) is Larissa State Airport “Thessaly” (LRA), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) NNW of VOL.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 83 feet above mean sea level.
• The airport is designed to be upgraded over the ensuing years in order to accommodate the increase in air travel and its upgrades are planned in a six-phase framework.
• Nea Anchialos National Airport (VOL) currently has only 1 runway.