Nonstop flight route between Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Corvo Airport (CVU), Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,593 miles (or 5,782 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 Corvo 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 Corvo 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 Corvo Airport (CVU):

• Corvo Airport handled 3,839 passengers last year.
• The Corvo aerodrome is located on the island of Corvo, one of the two volcanically stable islands that lie west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, in the archipelago of the Azores.
• The closest airport to Corvo Airport (CVU) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) S of CVU.
• The airport is situated on the southern coast of the island, at least 50 m from the water's edge, flanking the southern limit of Vila do Corvo.
• The furthest airport from Corvo Airport (CVU) is Flinders Island Airport (FLS), which is nearly antipodal to Corvo Airport (meaning Corvo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flinders Island Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia.
• Because of Corvo Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Corvo 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.
• In addition to being known as "Corvo Airport", another name for CVU is "Aeródromo de Corvo".
• Opened on 12 January 2005, SATA Gestão de Aeródromos was established to operate the smaller airports on the islands of Pico, Graciosa, Corvo and São Jorge.
• Corvo Airport (CVU) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth 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.