Nonstop flight route between Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,536 miles (or 7,300 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 Groningen Airport Eelde 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 Groningen Airport Eelde 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 Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):

• Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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 aerodrome's name was changed once again in 1988, becoming officially "Groningen Airport Eelde NV".
• The closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.
• Ryanair started a scheduled service to its London Stansted base in 2003.
• The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Early 1945, the Germans abandoned their "Fliegerhorst", as they called it.
• Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.
• Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.