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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dijon Air Base (DIJ), Dijon, France and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,761 miles (or 7,662 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base (DIJ):

• Dijon Air Base (DIJ) has 2 runways.
• The first operational Luftwaffe unit to take up residence at Dijon was IV/KG 55 "Greiff", in February 1941, consisting of three squadrons numbers 10, 11 and 12, equipped with 12 Heinkel 111 bombers each.
• In addition to the American units, The Free French Air Force operated B-26 Marauders from Dijon beginning on 11 October 1944.
• Effective the evening of 04 June 2014, there are no scheduled passenger flights from Dijon
• The furthest airport from Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dijon Air Base (meaning Dijon Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,186 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Dijon Air Base's relatively low elevation of 726 feet, planes can take off or land at Dijon Air Base 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.
• It was also the Headquarters of the 42d Bombardment Group between November 1944 and July 1945.
• In addition to being known as "Dijon Air Base", another name for DIJ is "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-9)".
• The closest airport to Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SE of DIJ.
• Operating as a joint civilian base, it is also a commercial airport.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".