Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Marseille, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Marseille, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,948 miles (or 7,963 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence 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):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 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".
• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.

Facts about Marseille Provence Airport (MRS):

• In addition to being known as "Marseille Provence Airport", another name for MRS is "Aéroport de Marseille ProvenceAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-14".
• In September 2006, the airport opened its new terminal MP2 for budget airlines.
• Marseille Provence Airport handled 8,295,479 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Marseille Provence Airport (meaning Marseille Provence Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MRS.
• Because of Marseille Provence Airport's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at Marseille Provence 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.
• Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) has 2 runways.
• In the 1920s and 1930s, Marignane was one of France's main points of operation for flying boats.