Nonstop flight route between Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,627 miles (or 7,447 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 Düsseldorf 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 Düsseldorf 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 Düsseldorf Airport (DUS):

• The first stage in the "Airport 2000+" programme commenced in 1999 with the laying of a foundation stone for an underground parking garage under the new terminal.
• Düsseldorf Airport handled 20,830,000 passengers last year.
• Düsseldorf Airport has three terminals connected by a central spine, even though the terminals are essentially concourses within a single terminal building.
• In 1964 planning began for the construction of a new terminal, with capacity for 1.4 million passengers, and in 1969 the main runway was lengthened to 3000 metres.
• Because of Düsseldorf Airport's relatively low elevation of 147 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf 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.
• Terminal C was opened in 1986 and has 8 gates used exclusively for non-Schengen-flights by non-Star Alliance airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Airport", another name for DUS is "Flughafen Düsseldorf".
• The furthest airport from Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,899 miles (19,149 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WSW of DUS.
• Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) has 2 runways.
• The new Düsseldorf Airport station was opened in May 2000, with the capacity of 300 train departures daily.
• Düsseldorf Airport is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.