Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Atka, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to AKB:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- AKB Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about AKB
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to AKB
- List of Nearest Airports to AKB
- Map of Furthest Airports from AKB
- List of Furthest Airports from AKB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Atka Airport (AKB), Atka, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,189 miles (or 5,133 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Atka Airport, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Atka Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AKB / PAAK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Atka, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°13'14"N by 174°12'21"W |
Area Served: | Atka, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 57 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AKB |
More Information: | AKB Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
- Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
- 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.
- Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
- 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.
- 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 is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
Facts about Atka Airport (AKB):
- As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 321 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 406 enplanements in 2009, and 322 in 2010.
- The closest airport to Atka Airport (AKB) is Adak Airport (ADK), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) WSW of AKB.
- In addition to being known as "Atka Airport", another name for AKB is "AKA".
- The furthest airport from Atka Airport (AKB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 11,025 miles (17,743 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Atka Airport (AKB) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Atka Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Atka 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.