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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL), Deauville, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,495 miles (or 7,235 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 Deauville - Saint-Gatien 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 Deauville - Saint-Gatien 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):

• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.

Facts about Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL):

• Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport's relatively low elevation of 479 feet, planes can take off or land at Deauville - Saint-Gatien 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 closest airport to Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL) is Le Havre - Octeville Airport (LEH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of DOL.
• In addition to being known as "Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport", another name for DOL is "Aéroport de Deauville - Saint-Gatien".
• The furthest airport from Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (DOL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport (meaning Deauville - Saint-Gatien Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,021 miles (19,345 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.