Nonstop flight route between Trapani, Italy and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), Trapani, Italy and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,487 miles (or 8,831 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi 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 Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS):

• Inaugurated in the 1960s as a small regional airport operating very few flights, Trapani-Birgi became even less important in the 1990s, during which only a flight to Pantelleria was operated.
• Data from Assaeroporti.
• The closest airport to Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) ENE of TPS.
• The furthest airport from Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,817 miles (19,018 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi 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 airport gained international attention during Operation Unified Protector in 2011 when NATO aircraft were based there during military intervention in the Libyan civil war.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi handled 1,878,557 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi", another name for TPS is "Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.