Nonstop flight route between Valle de la Pascua, Guárico, Venezuela and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valle de la Pascua Airport (VDP), Valle de la Pascua, Guárico, Venezuela and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,276 miles (or 5,272 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 Valle de la Pascua 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 Valle de la Pascua 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 Valle de la Pascua Airport (VDP):

• Because of Valle de la Pascua Airport's relatively low elevation of 410 feet, planes can take off or land at Valle de la Pascua 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.
• Valle de la Pascua Airport (VDP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Valle de la Pascua Airport (VDP) is Calabozo Airport (CLZ), which is located 99 miles (160 kilometers) WSW of VDP.
• The furthest airport from Valle de la Pascua Airport (VDP) is Blimbingsari Airport (BWX), which is nearly antipodal to Valle de la Pascua Airport (meaning Valle de la Pascua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Blimbingsari Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, Java Island, Indonesia.
• In addition to being known as "Valle de la Pascua Airport", another name for VDP is "Valle de la Pascua".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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 March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.