Nonstop flight route between Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU), Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,833 miles (or 7,778 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 Cottbus-Drewitz 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 Cottbus-Drewitz 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 Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU):

• The furthest airport from Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,683 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) is Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) NW of CBU.
• Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (CBU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Cottbus-Drewitz Airport's relatively low elevation of 276 feet, planes can take off or land at Cottbus-Drewitz 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 April 2000 a new control tower was opened.
• In late May 2012, a grass strip at the airport was used to conduct unpaved runway trials of the Airbus A400M military airlifter.
• In addition to being known as "Cottbus-Drewitz Airport", other names for CBU include "Flugplatz Cottbus-Drewitz" and "Cottbus- Drewitz Airport".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.