Nonstop flight route between Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hannover Airport (HAJ), Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,662 miles (or 7,503 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 Hannover 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 Hannover 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 Hannover Airport (HAJ):

• Hannover Airport is the international airport of Hanover, the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony.
• Hannover Airport (HAJ) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Celle Air Base (ZCN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of HAJ.
• Because of Hannover Airport's relatively low elevation of 183 feet, planes can take off or land at Hannover 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.
• Hannover Airport is one of very few German airports which are open 24 hours a day, but in practice there are very few flights between 11pm and 4am.
• The additional Terminal D to the east of the main terminal is a rebuilt hangar which is exclusively used by the Royal Air Force to supply British troops in the north of Germany.
• Hannover Airport was opened in Langenhagen in 1952, replacing an old airfield within the city limits of Hannover.
• The furthest airport from Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,776 miles (18,952 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Hannover Airport", another name for HAJ is "Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen".
• Hannover Airport has 3 passenger terminals named A, B, and C.

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.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.