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):

• Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) has 2 runways.
• Since 2003, an area of 23 hectares south-west of the airport terminal has been under redevelopment as Düsseldorf Airport City with an anticipated gross floor area of 250,000 square metres to be completed by 2016.
• 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.
• 107 aircraft parking positions are available.
• A fully automatic, suspended monorail called SkyTrain connects the long distance station to the parking areas and the passenger terminals and also serves as an inter-terminal connection.
• Düsseldorf Airport handled 20,830,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Airport", another name for DUS is "Flughafen Düsseldorf".
• The Düsseldorf Airport fire which has been the worst structural airport fire worldwide yet was caused by welding work on an elevated road in front of Terminal A above its arrivals area and insufficient structural fire protection.
• 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• 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.