Nonstop flight route between Marseille, France and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Marseille, France and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,948 miles (or 7,963 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence 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 Marseille Provence Airport (MRS):

• Because of Marseille Provence Airport's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at Marseille Provence 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.
• In the 1920s and 1930s, Marignane was one of France's main points of operation for flying boats.
• Marseille Provence Airport handled 8,295,479 passengers last year.
• Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Marseille Provence Airport (meaning Marseille Provence Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In summer 2013, the airport serves 132 regular destinations, the largest offer in France after the Parisian airports.
• The closest airport to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MRS.
• In addition to being known as "Marseille Provence Airport", another name for MRS is "Aéroport de Marseille ProvenceAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-14".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.