Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Banff, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Banff Airport (YBA), Banff, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 756 miles (or 1,217 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 relatively short distance between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Banff Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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".
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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 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 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.

Facts about Banff Airport (YBA):

• Banff Airport (YBA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Banff Airport (YBA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,405 miles (16,746 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Banff Airport (YBA) is Fairmont Hot Springs Airport (YCZ), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) SSW of YBA.
• Because of Banff Airport's high elevation of 4,583 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at YBA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make YBA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.