Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,591 miles (or 7,389 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 Brussels South Charleroi 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 Brussels South Charleroi 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):

• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL):

• In addition to being known as "Brussels South Charleroi Airport", another name for CRL is "Aéroport de Charleroi Bruxelles Sud".
• The closest airport to Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Brussels Airport (BRU), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CRL.
• The airport is accessible by the highway from Brussels, Liège or Lille.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport handled 6,516,427 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,975 miles (19,272 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Brussels South Charleroi Airport's relatively low elevation of 614 feet, planes can take off or land at Brussels South Charleroi 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 European Commission objected to assistance the airport offered to Ryanair, since the airport is owned by the Wallonia regional government and thus the discounts and other benefits could be considered state aid.
• Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Operations at Brussels-South Charleroi grew in the 1990s, with a new commercial management structure and the arrival of Irish low cost airline Ryanair in 1997, which opened its first continental base at Charleroi a few years later.