Nonstop flight route between Riverton, Wyoming, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RIW to RCA:
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- About this route
- RIW Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about RIW
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIW
- List of Nearest Airports to RIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIW
- List of Furthest Airports from RIW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Riverton Regional Airport (RIW), Riverton, Wyoming, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 280 miles (or 450 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 Riverton Regional Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIW / KRIW |
Airport Name: | Riverton Regional Airport |
Location: | Riverton, Wyoming, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°3'51"N by 108°27'34"W |
Area Served: | Riverton, Wyoming |
Operator/Owner: | City of Riverton |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5528 feet (1,685 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIW |
More Information: | RIW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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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 |
Facts about Riverton Regional Airport (RIW):
- Because of Riverton Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,528 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,758 miles (17,313 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Riverton Regional Airport covers an area of 1,250 acres at an elevation of 5,528 feet above mean sea level.
- Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) is Hunt Field (LND), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SW of RIW.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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 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 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.
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- 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.