Nonstop flight route between San Fernando City, La Union, Philippines and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SFE to RCA:
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- About this route
- SFE Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about SFE
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFE
- List of Nearest Airports to SFE
- Map of Furthest Airports from SFE
- List of Furthest Airports from SFE
- 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 San Fernando Airport (SFE), San Fernando City, La Union, Philippines and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,428 miles (or 11,955 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 San Fernando 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 San Fernando 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SFE / RPUS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | San Fernando City, La Union, Philippines |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°35'44"N by 120°18'11"E |
Area Served: | San Fernando City, La Union |
Operator/Owner: | Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFE |
More Information: | SFE 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 San Fernando Airport (SFE):
- Because of San Fernando Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Fernando 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.
- San Fernando Airport (SFE) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "San Fernando Airport", another name for SFE is "Paliparan ng San Fernando Pagtayaban ti San Fernando".
- The furthest airport from San Fernando Airport (SFE) is Concepción Airport (CEP), which is nearly antipodal to San Fernando Airport (meaning San Fernando Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Concepción Airport), and is located 12,279 miles (19,762 kilometers) away in Concepción, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
- The closest airport to San Fernando Airport (SFE) is Loakan Airport (BAG), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SE of SFE.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- 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 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.
- After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
- 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 AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
- 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.