Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cairo, Egypt:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Cairo International Airport (CAI), Cairo, Egypt would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,557 miles (or 10,552 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 Cairo International 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 Cairo International Airport. 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 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Cairo International Airport (CAI):

• The terminal will include larger and more modern retail areas and will also include Airbus A380 gates.
• In addition to being known as "Cairo International Airport", another name for CAI is "مطار القاهرة الدولي".
• Other locations which transport routes were flown were RAF Habbaniya, Iraq on the Cairo – Karachi, India route.
• Cairo International Airport handled 14,711,500 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Cairo International Airport (CAI) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,878 miles (19,117 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Cairo International Airport (CAI) is Alexandria International Airport (ALY), which is located 113 miles (183 kilometers) NW of CAI.
• Because of Cairo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 382 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairo 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.
• Cairo International Airport (CAI) has 3 runways.
• As of 2009 the façade of the terminal was being upgraded.