Nonstop flight route between Buffalo, New York, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BUF to RCA:
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- About this route
- BUF Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about BUF
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUF
- List of Nearest Airports to BUF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUF
- List of Furthest Airports from BUF
- 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 Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), Buffalo, New York, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,218 miles (or 1,959 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 Buffalo Niagara International 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: | BUF / KBUF |
Airport Name: | Buffalo Niagara International Airport |
Location: | Buffalo, New York, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°56'26"N by 78°43'55"W |
Area Served: | Erie County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 728 feet (222 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUF |
More Information: | BUF 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 Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF):
- The closest airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of BUF.
- The Buffalo Municipal Airport opened in 1926 on former farmland, making it one of the oldest public airports in the country.
- Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) has 2 runways.
- Because of Buffalo Niagara International Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Buffalo Niagara International 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.
- The proximity of Buffalo Niagara International Airport to the 8.4 million residents of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region makes it a very popular airport for Canadians traveling to U.S.
- The furthest airport from Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,465 miles (18,452 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- In addition, there is visitor's information station near the exit from the terminal where arriving passengers can stop for Buffalo-related souvenirs and tourist information before getting their bags.
- Buffalo Niagara International Airport handled 5,118,000 passengers last year.
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 AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- 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 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.
- The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
- 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.
- 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.
- The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
- 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.
- 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.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.