Nonstop flight route between Lasham, England, United Kingdom and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lasham Airfield (QLA), Lasham, England, United Kingdom and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,376 miles (or 7,042 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 Lasham Airfield 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 Lasham Airfield 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 Lasham Airfield (QLA):

• The furthest airport from Lasham Airfield (QLA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,896 miles (19,145 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In mid-1943, the airfield was transferred to RAF Fighter Command.
• It was built in 1942 and was a RAF Station during the Second World War, many significant operations being flown from it.
• The closest airport to Lasham Airfield (QLA) is RAF Odiham (ODH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of QLA.
• Lasham Airfield (QLA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1999, Lasham Gliding Society completed the purchase from the Ministry of Defence of the freehold to the airfield, making the final payment in 2001.
• Maps of the area before and after the airfield was constructed are displayed in the main corridor of the clubhouse of Lasham Gliding Society on the North side of the airfield off Avenue Road.
• A notable operation was by 613 Squadron.
• Because of Lasham Airfield's relatively low elevation of 618 feet, planes can take off or land at Lasham Airfield 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 club uses two Skylaunch winches, normally delivering launch heights of 1500 ft and over 2000 ft in strong winds.
• LGS's 90+ instructors train new pilots at all stages from Ab initio through to competitive cross-country flying.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.