Nonstop flight route between Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,591 miles (or 7,389 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 Brussels South Charleroi 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 Brussels South Charleroi 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 Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL):

• Local TEC buses run between the airport and Charleroi railway station.
• In addition to being known as "Brussels South Charleroi Airport", another name for CRL is "Aéroport de Charleroi Bruxelles Sud".
• Because of Brussels South Charleroi Airport's relatively low elevation of 614 feet, planes can take off or land at Brussels South Charleroi 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.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Brussels Airport (BRU), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CRL.
• Operations at Brussels-South Charleroi grew in the 1990s, with a new commercial management structure and the arrival of Irish low cost airline Ryanair in 1997, which opened its first continental base at Charleroi a few years later.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport handled 6,516,427 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,975 miles (19,272 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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.