Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Birjand, Iran:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Birjand International Airport (XBJ), Birjand, Iran would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,999 miles (or 11,263 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 Birjand 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 Birjand 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):

• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Birjand International Airport (XBJ):

• Because of Birjand International Airport's high elevation of 4,952 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XBJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XBJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In February 2012, Birjand International Airport saw the first traffic by a large aircraft, Iran Air's Airbus 300, on a test flight in order to prepare for Hajj traffic.
• The closest airport to Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Tabas Airport (TCX), which is located 147 miles (237 kilometers) WNW of XBJ.
• Birjand International Airport (XBJ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Birjand International Airport", another name for XBJ is "فرودگاه بین المللی بیرجند".
• The furthest airport from Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,653 miles (18,754 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.