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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dresden Airport (DRS), Dresden, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,849 miles (or 7,804 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 Dresden 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 Dresden 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 Dresden Airport (DRS):

• Dresden Airport railway station is situated in the basement of the terminal building.
• Between 1955 and 1961, the East German government decided to develop its own aviation industry centred on Dresden.
• The airport is within the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe's Dresden tariff zone, as is central Dresden, and a single ticket is valid on the S-Bahn, trams and buses within that zone.
• In addition to being known as "Dresden Airport", another name for DRS is "Flughafen Dresden".
• Dresden Airport (DRS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dresden Airport (DRS) is Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) W of DRS.
• The furthest airport from Dresden Airport (DRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Dresden Airport's relatively low elevation of 754 feet, planes can take off or land at Dresden 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".