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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dijon Air Base (DIJ), Dijon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,761 miles (or 7,662 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 Dijon Air Base, 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 Dijon Air Base. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.

Facts about Dijon Air Base (DIJ):

• The closest airport to Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SE of DIJ.
• Because of Dijon Air Base's relatively low elevation of 726 feet, planes can take off or land at Dijon Air Base 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 first operational Luftwaffe unit to take up residence at Dijon was IV/KG 55 "Greiff", in February 1941, consisting of three squadrons numbers 10, 11 and 12, equipped with 12 Heinkel 111 bombers each.
• In addition to being known as "Dijon Air Base", another name for DIJ is "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-9)".
• Dijon Air Base (DIJ) has 2 runways.
• Dijon Air Base is a Front-line French Air Force NATO air base.
• The furthest airport from Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dijon Air Base (meaning Dijon Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,186 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1984, the Dassault Mirage 2000C arrived, upgraded in 1999 by the 2000-5F., contributing to a modern, front-line NATO facility.
• Operating as a joint civilian base, it is also a commercial airport.