Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dakar, Senegal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR), Dakar, Senegal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,297 miles (or 8,525 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International 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):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR):

• It used to be one of the five main hubs of the now defunct multi-national airline, Air Afrique.
• The closest airport to Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) is Kaolack Airport (KLC), which is located 105 miles (168 kilometers) ESE of DKR.
• Because of Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Léopold Sédar Senghor International 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 airport can handle jumbo jets, including the Airbus A340-600 from South African Airways, and the Boeing 777-200 from Air France.
• In 2007, Patrick Smith, author of the Ask the Pilot column for Salon.com, called it the "World's Worst Airport", commenting that he found there "only squalor, an unnerving sense of confinement and to some extent danger".
• In addition to being known as "Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport", another name for DKR is "Aéroport international Léopold-Sédar-Senghor".
• Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport handled 1,500,000 passengers last year.
• Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is nearly antipodal to Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (meaning Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kirakira Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Kirakira, Makira Island, Solomon Islands.