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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Blackpool International Airport (BLK), Blackpool, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,201 miles (or 6,761 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 Blackpool International 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 Blackpool International 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):

• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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 AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.

Facts about Blackpool International Airport (BLK):

• In addition to being known as "Blackpool International Airport", another name for BLK is "Squires Gate Airport".
• Blackpool International Airport handled 262,630 passengers last year.
• In 2007, Jet2 cancelled its Prague and Amsterdam services blaming insufficient passenger numbers as the reason to suspend the route.
• The RAF also selected Blackpool as one of its training wings due to the availability of accommodation.
• Blackpool International Airport (BLK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Blackpool International Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Blackpool International 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.
• Until January 2006 an Avro Vulcan bomber was on static external display close to the entrance to the airport.
• The closest airport to Blackpool International Airport (BLK) is Warton Aerodrome (WRT), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of BLK.
• In the summer of 2008 Ryanair announced a large cut in capacity at a number of airports, including Stansted, from October 2008 to March 2009, although Blackpool was not affected by these cuts.
• The furthest airport from Blackpool International Airport (BLK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,823 miles (19,027 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.