Nonstop flight route between West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WYS to RCA:
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- About this route
- WYS Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about WYS
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to WYS
- List of Nearest Airports to WYS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WYS
- List of Furthest Airports from WYS
- 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 Yellowstone Airport (WYS), West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 399 miles (or 641 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 Yellowstone Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | WYS / KWYS |
| Airport Name: | Yellowstone Airport |
| Location: | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°41'17"N by 111°7'4"W |
| Area Served: | West Yellowstone, Montana |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Montana |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6649 feet (2,027 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WYS |
| More Information: | WYS 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 Yellowstone Airport (WYS):
- Yellowstone Airport (WYS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The airport is currently served on a seasonal basis by SkyWest Airlines operating as the Delta Connection with Embraer EMB-120 "Brasilia" twin turboprop aircraft flying nonstop to and from the Delta hub located at Salt Lake City Airport.
- Delta/Skywest Airlines EMB120
- West Yellowstone jumpers and tanker are considered national resources.
- The closest airport to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Dubois Municipal Airport (DBS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of WYS.
- Because of Yellowstone Airport's high elevation of 6,649 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WYS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WYS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
