Nonstop flight route between Tucson, Arizona, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 934 miles (or 1,503 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 Tucson 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 Tucson International Airport (TUS):

• Airlines usually use Runway 11L.
• Tucson International Airport (TUS) has 3 runways.
• Tucson International Airport handled 1,779,679 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Tucson International Airport (TUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,513 miles (18,528 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1948 the Tucson Airport Authority was created as a non-profit corporation to operate the airport and oversee policy decisions.
• In January 2014, the Tucson Airport Authority board approved a no-cost, 20-year property lease with the Federal Aviation Administration for property on which to build a new federally-funded control tower to replace the 1950s vintage tower currently in use.
• The closest airport to Tucson International Airport (TUS) is Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of TUS.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.