Nonstop flight route between Wick, Scotland, United Kingdom and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wick Airport (WIC), Wick, Scotland, United Kingdom and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,014 miles (or 6,460 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 Wick 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 Wick 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 Wick Airport (WIC):

• Requisitioned by the Air Ministry during World War II, the airfield was extended with hard runways, hangars, and other buildings.
• The closest airport to Wick Airport (WIC) is Kirkwall Airport (KOI), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) N of WIC.
• Wick Airport (WIC) has 2 runways.
• The airport is marketed as Wick John O' Groats by FlyBe, which operates a daily service to Edinburgh, using its franchise partner Loganair.
• The furthest airport from Wick Airport (WIC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,559 miles (18,602 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Wick Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Wick 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.