Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,820 miles (or 7,756 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport, 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 Leipzig–Altenburg Airport. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.

Facts about Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC):

• Because of Leipzig–Altenburg Airport's relatively low elevation of 640 feet, planes can take off or land at Leipzig–Altenburg 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.
• Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following the defeat of Germany, the airfield infrastructure was dismantled in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
• The furthest airport from Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Leipzig–Altenburg Airport", another name for AOC is "Flughafen Altenburg–Nobitz".
• As of January 2014 there are no scheduled services to and from Leipzig–Altenburg as Ryanair left in 2011 as the last remaining airline.
• During World War I, Altenburg–Nobitz was mainly used as a production centre for German military aircraft, with Albatros, DFW, Rumpler and Fokker types all being assembled there.
• The closest airport to Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC) is Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of AOC.