Nonstop flight route between Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Luton Airport (LTN), Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,369 miles (or 7,030 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 London Luton 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 London Luton 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 London Luton Airport (LTN):

• In the 1980s the airport was seeing a decline in customer numbers.
• Because of London Luton Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at London Luton 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 main feature of the development phase in 1998 was a £40 million terminal made from aluminium and glass, based on an original design by Foster and Partners.
• In 2004 the airport management announced that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities to include a full-length runway and a new terminal.
• The closest airport to London Luton Airport (LTN) is Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of LTN.
• EasyJet's head office is Hangar 89, a building located on the grounds of London Luton Airport.
• The furthest airport from London Luton Airport (LTN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,851 miles (19,072 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• London Luton Airport is widely known as a result of the Airline and Luton Airport television series.
• London Luton Airport (LTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• London Luton Airport handled 9,697,944 passengers last year.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.