Nonstop flight route between Heringsdorf, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heringsdorf Airport (HDF), Heringsdorf, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,722 miles (or 7,599 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 Heringsdorf 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 Heringsdorf 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 Heringsdorf Airport (HDF):

• Heringsdorf Airport (HDF) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Heringsdorf Airport", another name for HDF is "Flughafen Heringsdorf".
• Because of Heringsdorf Airport's relatively low elevation of 92 feet, planes can take off or land at Heringsdorf 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 closest airport to Heringsdorf Airport (HDF) is "Solidarity" Szczecin–Goleniów Airport (SZZ), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) ESE of HDF.
• Heringsdorf Airport features a single small terminal building equipped with check-in facilities and an information desk.
• The furthest airport from Heringsdorf Airport (HDF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,592 miles (18,656 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Due to the size of the airport and the island itself there is no scheduled public transportation available.

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 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 is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• 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.