Ellsworth Air Force Base
RCA · KRCA · Rapid City, South Dakota · Pennington County · map
Ellsworth Air Force Base is a private airport owned by the U.S. Air Force, 5 miles southwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, 3,276 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 13/31, is 13,497 feet of concrete. It has a control tower.
Private use: permission from the owner is required before landing here.
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Ellsworth Air Force Base…
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA RCA · ICAO KRCA
- Kind
- Airport · private use, permission required · owned by the Air Force
- Owner
- U.S. Air Force
- Elevation
- 3,276 feet above sea level
- Pattern altitude
- 4,500 feet above the airport
- Control tower
- A control tower with radar approach control · 1400-0730z++ mon-thu, 1400-0100z++ friday, closed saturday, sunday, global strike comd down days, and holidays.
- Attended
- Monday to Thursday, 2:00 pm to 0730z++; Friday, 2:00 pm to 0100z++
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- no fuel reported; the services card below
- On the chart
- Cheyenne sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 8E
- In the FAA's files since
- November 1938
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/31 | 13,497 × 300 ft | Concrete | High-intensity lights |
- Runway 13: ILS, PAPI, four lights on the left, approach lights with sequenced flashers (ALSF-1)
- Runway 31: ILS, PAPI, four lights on the left, approach lights with sequenced flashers (ALSF-1)
Radio frequencies
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 120.625 | Ellsworth |
| Ground | 121.8 | Ellsworth |
| Tower | 126.05 | Ellsworth |
| Approach and departure | 119.5 | Ellsworth |
| Emergency | 121.5 | Ellsworth |
| Crawford and center (remote transmitter) Low | 127.95 | Ellsworth |
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- none reported
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Oxygen
- bulk oxygen (low-pressure)
Nearest fields reporting jet fuel: Rapid City Regional (6 nm south), Sturgis Municipal (20 nm northwest), Custer County (33 nm southwest), Black Hills-Clyde Ice Field (36 nm northwest).
Nearest fields reporting avgas: Rapid City Regional (6 nm south), Sturgis Municipal (20 nm northwest), Custer County (33 nm southwest), Black Hills-Clyde Ice Field (36 nm northwest).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in South Dakota · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Airfield lighting only available during tower hours.
- Pattern altitude: rectangular 4500 feet above sea level, 5000 feet above sea level ovhd, avoid ovft of base proper when crc to landing.
- Closed wknd, holidays and global strike comd (gsc) down days.
- Base operations V675-1052/2861.
- Caution: HI potential for MID-AIR collision exists with aircraft FR Rapid City airport located approximately 6.5 NM southeast of airport.
- Jasu: (AM32A-95) (A/M32A-86)
- Oil: O-132-133-148
- Tran alert: service available 1300-2200Z++ MON-FRI; closed Saturday, Sunday, holidays, and global strike comd down days. Fleet service unavailable.
- From obs point weather technicians unable to see the tdz of both runways.
- Global strike comd rsrs applied to global strike comd only
- Extv general avn and commercial traffic in vicinity of Rapid City airport 6.5 NM southeast of airport.
- Restricted: aircrew should avoid bear butte, defined by the rca 317/25 fix, by flying no lower than 10,000 feet above sea level within 2NM.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Rapid City from the FAA register
152 aircraft are registered to owners in Rapid City, South Dakota: 98 piston singles, 13 turboprops, 13 gliders, 9 piston twins, 7 helicopters. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in South Dakota.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Black Hills Soaring Club INC 1 aircraft · Rapid City, 7 miles away
- Rapid 6 Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · Rapid City, 7 miles away
Charter operators and airlines based in Rapid City:
- Black Hills Helicopters and Charters, INC. 7 aircraft on the certificate Black Hills Helicopters is a helicopter tour operator based in Keystone, South Dakota, offering private scenic tours over Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and other Black Hills landmarks.
- Dale Aviation INC 7 aircraft on the certificate
Repair stations in Rapid City:
- Advanced Aerotechnologies Group, L.L.C. Advanced Aero Technologies Group is an FAA-certified repair station providing avionics installation, aircraft maintenance, engine overhaul and repair, and inspection services.
- Dale Aviation INC
- Rapid Avionics INC
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 1 since 1982, 0 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Rapid City 152 aircraft · 98 piston singles, 13 turboprops, 13 gliders
- Dale Aviation INC 8 aircraft in town
- Plane Training LLC 4 aircraft in town
- Cole-Tac LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Charlie Tango LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Black Hills Helicopters and Charters, INC. 7 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Dale Aviation INC 7 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Black Hills Soaring Club INC 1 aircraft · flying club
- Rapid 6 Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Advanced Aerotechnologies Group, L.L.C. · repair station
- Dale Aviation INC · repair station
- Rapid Avionics INC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 1 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in South Dakota 467 since 1982 · 67 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in South Dakota 70 landing places
- South Dakota 2,273 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/RCA.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 27, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.