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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH), Friedrichshafen, Bodensee, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,890 miles (or 7,869 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 Friedrichshafen 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 Friedrichshafen 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 Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH):

• The airport consists of one passenger terminal building that features eight departure gates as well as some shops and restaurants.
• Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Friedrichshafen Airport", another name for FDH is "Flughafen Friedrichshafen".
• Friedrichshafen can be reached from all directions via federal highways B30 and B31 which are connected to several motorways like the A96 from Munich or the A13/A14 from Austria and Switzerland.
• The furthest airport from Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Friedrichshafen Airport (meaning Friedrichshafen Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,045 miles (19,384 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Friedrichshafen Airport (FDH) is St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) S of FDH.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".