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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), Dole, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,784 miles (or 7,699 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 Dole - Jura 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 Dole - Jura 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):

• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.

Facts about Dole - Jura Airport (DLE):

• The furthest airport from Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dole - Jura Airport (meaning Dole - Jura Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,195 miles (19,626 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Dole - Jura Airport's relatively low elevation of 645 feet, planes can take off or land at Dole - Jura 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.
• Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) is Dijon Air Base (DIJ), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of DLE.
• The airport is used for general aviation, and for a few commercial airline services.
• Today, the airport's World War II history remains with the alert pads built by the Germans at each end of the main runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dole - Jura Airport", other names for DLE include "Aéroport de Dole - Jura" and "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-7)".