Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Béziers, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR), Béziers, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,886 miles (or 7,863 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 Béziers Cap d'Agde 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 Béziers Cap d'Agde 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 base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.

Facts about Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR):

• The closest airport to Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) ENE of BZR.
• Because of Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Béziers Cap d'Agde 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.
• The furthest airport from Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (meaning Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport", another name for BZR is "Aéroport Béziers Cap d'Agde".
• Because of its comparatively short runway measuring 1,820 m × 30 m, the airport was unable to benefit from the growth of low-cost flights that had fuelled expansion at other airports in the region.
• Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (BZR) currently has only 1 runway.