Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bern, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bern Airport (BRN), Bern, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,860 miles (or 7,822 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 Bern 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 Bern 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 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.

Facts about Bern Airport (BRN):

• The furthest airport from Bern Airport (BRN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bern Airport (meaning Bern Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,149 miles (19,552 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The existing terminal was expanded to better accommodate flights to the Non-Schengen area in 2011.
• The closest airport to Bern Airport (BRN) is Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) ENE of BRN.
• In addition to being known as "Bern Airport", other names for BRN include "Regionalflugplatz Bern-Belp" and "LSZB / LSMB".
• Bern Airport (BRN) has 2 runways.