Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,627 miles (or 7,447 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 Düsseldorf 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 Düsseldorf 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 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.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.

Facts about Düsseldorf Airport (DUS):

• With 18.99 million passengers passing through in 2010, the airport was the third busiest in Germany, after Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, and was the 20th busiest airport in Europe.
• Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,899 miles (19,149 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1973 the new central building and the Terminal B were opened and in 1975 the railroad connection between Düsseldorf central station and the airport started operation.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Airport", another name for DUS is "Flughafen Düsseldorf".
• Düsseldorf Airport is served by two railway stations – one for the suburban railway and one for regional and long-distance trains.
• Because of Düsseldorf Airport's relatively low elevation of 147 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf 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.
• 107 aircraft parking positions are available.
• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WSW of DUS.
• Düsseldorf Airport is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia.
• Düsseldorf Airport handled 20,830,000 passengers last year.