Nonstop flight route between Joroinen, Finland and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Varkaus Airport (VRK), Joroinen, Finland and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,605 miles (or 7,411 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 Varkaus 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 Varkaus 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 Varkaus Airport (VRK):

• The closest airport to Varkaus Airport (VRK) is Mikkeli Airport (MIK), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SSW of VRK.
• The furthest airport from Varkaus Airport (VRK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,834 miles (17,436 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Varkaus Airport (VRK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Varkaus Airport", another name for VRK is "Varkauden lentoasema".
• Because of Varkaus Airport's relatively low elevation of 286 feet, planes can take off or land at Varkaus 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.
• Varkaus Airport handled 8,057 passengers last year.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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.