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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF), Erfurt, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,773 miles (or 7,681 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 Erfurt–Weimar 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 Erfurt–Weimar 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 Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF):

• The airport consists of the two passenger terminal buildings A and B, but only the new Terminal B is currently in use.
• The airport's name was changed from Erfurt Airport in 2011, it was felt that from a marketing point of view the addition of Weimar to the name would better sell the area due to its historic importance.
• The closest airport to Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) is Hof–Plauen Airport (HOQ), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) SE of ERF.
• The airport can be reached via nearby motorway A71 which leads from Erfurt to Schweinfurt in Bavaria.
• In addition to being known as "Erfurt–Weimar Airport", another name for ERF is "Flughafen Erfurt–Weimar".
• Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Erfurt–Weimar Airport (ERF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,833 miles (19,043 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth 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.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.