Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Den Helder, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and De Kooy Airfield (DHR), Den Helder, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,489 miles (or 7,225 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 De Kooy Airfield, 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 De Kooy Airfield. 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 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about De Kooy Airfield (DHR):

• De Kooy Airfield (DHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The oil fields in the North Sea will eventually be depleted and when that happens the airport would lose most of its helicopter movements and thus alternative markets are being looked at, such as business and holiday flights.
• In addition to being known as "De Kooy Airfield", other names for DHR include "Vliegveld De Kooy", "Den Helder Airport" and "Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy".
• Because of De Kooy Airfield's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,998 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• De Kooy Airfield is an airfield 2.9 NM south of Den Helder, the Netherlands, named after the nearby hamlet De Kooy.
• The closest airport to De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 43 miles (68 kilometers) S of DHR.