Nonstop flight route between Newburgh, New York, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Stewart International Airport (SWF), Newburgh, New York, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,472 miles (or 2,368 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 Stewart International Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Stewart International Airport (SWF):

• Stewart International Airport (SWF) has 2 runways.
• Developed in the 1930s as a military base to allow cadets at the nearby United States Military Academy at West Point to learn aviation, it has grown into the major passenger airport for the mid-Hudson region and continues as a military airfield, housing the 105th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452 of the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
• By the time the land was finally available, the 1973 oil crisis and the attendant increase in the price of jet fuel had forced airlines to cut back, and some of the airport's original backers began arguing it was no longer economically viable.
• In 1994 George Pataki campaigned on improving efficiencies by privatizing money-losing state projects.
• The closest airport to Stewart International Airport (SWF) is Orange County Airport (MGJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of SWF.
• After its closure as an air force base in the early 1970s, an ambitious plan by former Governor Nelson Rockefeller to expand and develop the airport led to a protracted struggle with local landowners that led to reforms in the state's eminent domain laws but no actual development of the land acquired.
• One local hunter, Ben Kissam, formed the Stewart Park and Reserve Coalition in 1987 to oppose efforts to develop the lands.
• Because of Stewart International Airport's relatively low elevation of 491 feet, planes can take off or land at Stewart International 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.
• The furthest airport from Stewart International Airport (SWF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,712 miles (18,848 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1997 the state formally began, through the Empire State Development Corporation, the process of soliciting bids for a 99-year lease on the airport and, potentially, the adjacent undeveloped lands as well, whatever bidders wanted.
• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was the first government body to try to convert it into the New York metropolitan area's fourth major airport.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.