Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,517 miles (or 7,269 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.

Facts about Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS):

• By 1940, Schiphol had four asphalt runways at 45-degree angles, all 1,020 metres or less.
• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands, located 20 minutes ) southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.
• In 2010, 65.9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe, 11.7% to and from North America and 8.8% to and from Asia.
• The closest airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) WSW of AMS.
• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) has 6 runways.
• Departure Hall 1 consists of Piers B and C, both of which are dedicated Schengen areas.
• The furthest airport from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Schiphol has its own mortuary, where the dead can be handled and kept before departure or after arrival.
• Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, with a few barracks and a field serving as platform and runways.
• Pier E is a dedicated non-Schengen area and has 14 gates.
• In addition to being known as "Amsterdam Airport Schiphol", another name for AMS is "Luchthaven Schiphol".
• Because of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's relatively low elevation of -11 feet, planes can take off or land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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.
• Schiphol is the primary hub for KLM and its regional affiliate KLM Cityhopper as well as for Arkefly, Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair and Transavia.com.