Nonstop flight route between Mehamn, Norway and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mehamn Airport (MEH), Mehamn, Norway and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,118 miles (or 6,628 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 Mehamn 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 Mehamn 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 Mehamn Airport (MEH):

• The closest airport to Mehamn Airport (MEH) is Berlevåg Airport (BVG), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of MEH.
• Widerøe operated Twin Otters on the route until 1995, when the Dash 8 was introduced.
• Mehamn Airport handled 16,810 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Mehamn Airport", another name for MEH is "Mehamn lufthavn".
• Both the villages of Gamvik and Kjøllefjord were considered as alternative locations for the airport, and both received smaller airfields before Mehamn Airport opened in 1974.
• The furthest airport from Mehamn Airport (MEH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,384 miles (16,711 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Mehamn Airport (MEH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Simultaneously as Mehamn was awarded an airport, Parliament voted to build a new road which would better winter transport between the villages of Kjøllefjord, Mehamn and Gamvik, allow Mehamn Airport to efficiently serve the entire peninsula.
• Because of Mehamn Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Mehamn 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.

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.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.