Nonstop flight route between Quito, Ecuador and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), Quito, Ecuador and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,415 miles (or 5,496 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 Mariscal Sucre International 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 Mariscal Sucre International 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 Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO):

• Because of Mariscal Sucre International Airport's high elevation of 7,874 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at UIO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make UIO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The official inauguration was postponed from October, 2012, citing the progress of improvements to various access routes, the holiday season, and other factors.
• In addition to being known as "Mariscal Sucre International Airport", another name for UIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre".
• Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Subsequently, visitors toured the facilities of the passenger terminal building and the north and south ends of the runway.
• The closest airport to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) SSW of UIO.
• The furthest airport from Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (PKU), which is nearly antipodal to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (meaning Mariscal Sucre International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.