Nonstop flight route between Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VDS to RCA:
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- About this route
- VDS Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about VDS
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to VDS
- List of Nearest Airports to VDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VDS
- List of Furthest Airports from VDS
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vadsø Airport (VDS), Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,200 miles (or 6,758 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 Vadsø 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 Vadsø 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VDS / ENVD |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway |
GPS Coordinates: | 70°3'55"N by 29°50'40"E |
Area Served: | Vadsø |
Operator/Owner: | Avinor |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 127 feet (39 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from VDS |
More Information: | VDS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Facts about Vadsø Airport (VDS):
- In addition to being known as "Vadsø Airport", another name for VDS is "Vadsø lufthavn".
- The closest airport to Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) S of VDS.
- The furthest airport from Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,407 miles (16,748 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Vadsø is served by Widerøe, which operates 39-seat Dash 8-100 aircraft to other communities in Finnmark.
- Widerøe operated Twin Otters on the route until 1995, when the Dash 8 was introduced.
- Because of Vadsø Airport's relatively low elevation of 127 feet, planes can take off or land at Vadsø 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.
- Vadsø Airport handled 81,772 passengers last year.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
- 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.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.