Nonstop flight route between Winfield/Arkansas City, Kansas, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Strother Field (WLD), Winfield/Arkansas City, Kansas, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 576 miles (or 927 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 relatively short distance between Strother Field and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Strother Field (WLD):

• Strother Field (WLD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Strother Field (WLD) is Earl Henry Airport (BWL), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of WLD.
• The furthest airport from Strother Field (WLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,751 miles (17,302 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• For the 12-month period ending November 19, 2008, the airport had 6,500 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 17 per day.
• In addition to being known as "Strother Field", another name for WLD is "(formerly Strother Army Airfield)".
• The airport is named for Donald Root Strother, the first Army Air Corp pilot from Cowley County, Kansas to lose his life in World War II.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.