Nonstop flight route between Gdańsk, Poland and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), Gdańsk, Poland and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,813 miles (or 7,746 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN):

• The closest airport to Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport (QYD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) N of GDN.
• The airport is named after Lech Wałęsa, the former Polish president.
• The furthest airport from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport", other names for GDN include "Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy" and "Gdańsk".
• Because of Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport's relatively low elevation of 489 feet, planes can take off or land at Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 airport opened in 1974 near the village of Rębiechowo, to replace the previous airport located closer to the city centre in the suburb of Wrzeszcz.

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.
• 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.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".