Nonstop flight route between Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,820 miles (or 7,756 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC):

• Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of AOC.
• Because of Leipzig–Altenburg Airport's relatively low elevation of 640 feet, planes can take off or land at Leipzig–Altenburg 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.
• In addition to being known as "Leipzig–Altenburg Airport", another name for AOC is "Flughafen Altenburg–Nobitz".
• Following the defeat of Germany, the airfield infrastructure was dismantled in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
• The airfield at Altenburg–Nobitz is one of the oldest in Germany.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.