Nonstop flight route between Utti / Valkeala, Finland and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Utti Airport (UTI), Utti / Valkeala, Finland and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,657 miles (or 7,495 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 Utti 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 Utti 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 Utti Airport (UTI):

• In addition to being known as "Utti Airport", another name for UTI is "Utin lentoasema".
• Utti Airport (UTI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Utti Airport (UTI) is Lappeenranta Airport (LPP), which is located 42 miles (67 kilometers) ENE of UTI.
• Because of Utti Airport's relatively low elevation of 339 feet, planes can take off or land at Utti 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 Utti Airport (UTI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,915 miles (17,566 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Utti Airport handled 14 passengers last year.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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 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".