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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,594 miles (or 7,393 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 Paris Charles de Gaulle 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 Paris Charles de Gaulle 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):

• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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 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.

Facts about Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG):

• The closest airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is Paris–Le Bourget Airport (LBG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) WSW of CDG.
• The passage between the third, fourth and fifth floors is done through a tangle of escalators arranged in the centre of the building.
• The furthest airport from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (meaning Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,074 miles (19,432 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• RER B serves both CDG airport as well as northern suburbs of Paris.
• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's largest airport.
• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport handled 62,052,917 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport", other names for CDG include "Aéroport Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle" and "Roissy Airport".
• The completion of 750 m long Satellite 3 to the immediate east of Terminals 2E and 2F provides further jetways for large-capacity airliners, specifically the Airbus A380.
• Because of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's relatively low elevation of 392 feet, planes can take off or land at Paris Charles de Gaulle 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.
• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) has 4 runways.