Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,405 miles (or 7,090 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 London Biggin Hill 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 London Biggin Hill 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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".
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.

Facts about London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH):

• The airport is the scene of the landing of Sir Leigh Teabing's private jet in the bestselling book, The Da Vinci Code by author Dan Brown.
• Meanwhile, the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre moved to RAF Cranwell in 1992, marking the end of active RAF involvement.
• London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) has 2 runways.
• Today the airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• Because of London Biggin Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 599 feet, planes can take off or land at London Biggin Hill 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.
• In 2001, the London Borough of Bromley as freeholder of the airport succeeded in an action in the Court of Appeal.
• The closest airport to London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of BQH.
• In addition to being known as "London Biggin Hill Airport", another name for BQH is "Biggin Hill Airport".
• The furthest airport from London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,892 miles (19,139 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• From 1963, Biggin Hill airport was the venue of the Biggin Hill International Air Fair, an annual airshow that usually took place towards the end of June.