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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bournemouth Airport (BOH), Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,365 miles (or 7,025 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 Bournemouth 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 Bournemouth 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):

• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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 AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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".

Facts about Bournemouth Airport (BOH):

• 1958 saw the first Palmair charter from the airport, using a single 36 seat Viking aircraft destined for Palma de Mallorca.
• Bournemouth Airport (BOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bournemouth Airport handled 660,272 passengers last year.
• Because of Bournemouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Bournemouth 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.
• Since 2001, a Boeing 747SP has been based at the airport which is used by the Royal Family of Qatar and other VIP government staff from the Middle East state of Qatar.
• June 2009 saw the announcement of a new Thomson Airways Boeing 737-800 to be based at the airport to add extra capacity to existing routes, plus the introduction of five new routes.
• The closest airport to Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Southampton Airport (SOU), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) ENE of BOH.
• In 1969 the airport was purchased jointly by the Bournemouth Corporation and Dorset County Council and renamed as "Bournemouth Airport".
• In 2007, the airport's owners, Manchester Airports Group, announced a £32 million investment in the redevelopment of the airport which mainly focuses on creating new car parking spaces in two separate car parks and building a new International Arrivals terminal.
• The furthest airport from Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,941 miles (19,218 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.