Nonstop flight route between Rio Grande, Brazil and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), Rio Grande, Brazil and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,165 miles (or 9,922 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. 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 Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG):

• Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Rio Grande Regional Airport", other names for RIG include "Aeroporto Regional de Rio Grande" and "SJRG".
• The furthest airport from Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Fukue Airport (FUJ), which is nearly antipodal to Rio Grande Regional Airport (meaning Rio Grande Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fukue Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan.
• The closest airport to Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG) is Pelotas International Airport (PET), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNW of RIG.
• Because of Rio Grande Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio Grande Regional 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.