Nonstop flight route between Skyros, Greece and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Skyros Island National Airport (SKU), Skyros, Greece and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,830 miles (or 9,383 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 Skyros Island National 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 Skyros Island National 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 Skyros Island National Airport (SKU):

• In addition to being known as "Skyros Island National Airport", another name for SKU is "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Σκύρου".
• Skyros Island National Airport (SKU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Skyros Island National Airport (SKU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,304 miles (18,192 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Skyros Island National Airport (SKU) is Skiathos Airport ‘Alexandros Papadiamantis’ (JSI), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) WNW of SKU.
• Because of Skyros Island National Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Skyros Island National 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):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.