Nonstop flight route between Pilot Station, Alaska, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PQS to RCA:
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- About this route
- PQS Airport Information
- RCA Airport Information
- Facts about PQS
- Facts about RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to PQS
- List of Nearest Airports to PQS
- Map of Furthest Airports from PQS
- List of Furthest Airports from PQS
- 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 Pilot Station Airport (PQS), Pilot Station, Alaska, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,649 miles (or 4,264 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 Pilot Station 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 Pilot Station 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PQS / |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pilot Station, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°56'3"N by 162°53'57"W |
Area Served: | Pilot Station, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 305 feet (93 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PQS |
More Information: | PQS 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 Pilot Station Airport (PQS):
- In addition to being known as "Pilot Station Airport", another name for PQS is "0AK".
- The furthest airport from Pilot Station Airport (PQS) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,503 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Pilot Station Airport (PQS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Pilot Station Airport (PQS) is St. Mary's Airport (KSM), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) NW of PQS.
- Because of Pilot Station Airport's relatively low elevation of 305 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Station 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.
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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.
- Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.