Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Rapid City Regional Airport is the principal commercial gateway to South Dakota's Black Hills, lying nine miles southeast of Rapid City and closest of any airline airport to Mount Rushmore. It offers a long, ILS-equipped main runway alongside a shorter crosswind strip, making it a straightforward and well-equipped destination for a simulated approach into western South Dakota.
Rapid City Regional Airport is a public-use, small-hub commercial airport serving Rapid City and the wider Black Hills region of western South Dakota. It is owned by the City of Rapid City and operated by the Rapid City Regional Airport Board, and is the nearest airline airport to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, making it a natural point of departure or arrival for a Black Hills sightseeing flight in the simulator.
The airport lies in Pennington County, South Dakota, about nine miles southeast of downtown Rapid City. Approach and departure control in the area is provided by Ellsworth Approach and Ellsworth Departure, reflecting the airport's proximity to Ellsworth Air Force Base and the wider military and civil airspace structure of the region.
The airport has two physical runways. Runway 14/32 is the main strip, 8,686 feet long with a hard surface, lit, and equipped with an ILS on the runway 32 end. Runway 05/23 is a shorter hard-surfaced, lit crosswind runway of 3,560 feet.
Traffic at Rapid City is worked by a control tower on 125.85 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF; ground movements are handled on 121.9 MHz. Approach and departure services are provided by Ellsworth Approach/Departure on 119.5 MHz. The automated weather observation (ASOS) broadcasts on 118.525 MHz, and UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. The field is served by an ILS on runway 32.
Rapid City has had a municipal airport since 1924; an early field near the railroad tracks on East North Street was dedicated as Halley Field in 1929. In 1937 Rapid City Municipal Airport was established at what is now the site of Ellsworth Air Force Base, before the airport was relocated to its present location in 1950. It was renamed Rapid City Regional Airport in 1980. A new passenger terminal opened in November 1988 and was substantially expanded and renovated in 2012.
Rapid City Regional Airport today handles scheduled airline service from carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines, alongside cargo operations. The terminal building dates from 1988 and underwent a major expansion and renovation completed in 2012, adding jet bridges, an enlarged security area and other passenger facilities.