Nonstop flight route between Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from YSD to RCA:
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- About this route
- YSD Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about YSD
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to YSD
- List of Nearest Airports to YSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from YSD
- List of Furthest Airports from YSD
- 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 CFB Suffield (YSD), Suffield, Alberta, Canada and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 568 miles (or 915 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 CFB Suffield 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: | YSD / CYSD |
Airport Name: | CFB Suffield |
Location: | Suffield, Alberta, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°16'23"N by 111°10'29"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Canada |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 2525 feet (770 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from YSD |
More Information: | YSD 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 CFB Suffield (YSD):
- Following the fall of Algeria to Nazi Germany, the British Army required a new training facility for carrying out experiments in chemical warfare.
- The closest airport to CFB Suffield (YSD) is Medicine Hat Airport (YXH), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SE of YSD.
- The furthest airport from CFB Suffield (YSD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,339 miles (16,640 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
- 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 was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
- To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
- In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
- 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.