Nonstop flight route between Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shoreham Airport (ESH), Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,416 miles (or 7,106 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 Shoreham 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 Shoreham 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 Shoreham Airport (ESH):

• In 1949, F G Miles Engineering Ltd moved to Shoreham from Redhill Aerodrome and soon occupied the repaired Municipal Hangar.
• Shoreham Airport handled 1,500 passengers last year.
• Shoreham Airport (ESH) has 4 runways.
• The 2007 show raised in excess of £150,000 for the Royal Air Forces Association, a record achievement.
• In addition to being known as "Shoreham Airport", another name for ESH is "Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport".
• The closest airport to Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chichester/Goodwood Airport (QUG), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) W of ESH.
• Because of Shoreham Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Shoreham 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.
• The airfield was bombed several times and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 was shot down by ground fire during one such attack, crash-landing near the terminal building.
• The furthest airport from Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Due to its listed period buildings and facilities, Shoreham Airport has been used by film-makers seeking to portray a small town airport, or even for historical reconstructions of scenes from the 1930s onwards.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".