Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Exeter, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Exeter International Airport (EXT), Exeter, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,313 miles (or 6,940 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 Exeter 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 Exeter 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):

• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.

Facts about Exeter International Airport (EXT):

• The furthest airport from Exeter International Airport (EXT) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,994 miles (19,302 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The 440th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 50th Troop Carrier Wing, IX Troop Carrier Command.
• Exeter International Airport (EXT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Exeter International Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Exeter 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.
• These two FTO offer a range of training from the Privates Pilot Licence to the Commercial Pilots Licence and Instrument Rating.
• Exeter International Airport handled 741,465 passengers last year.
• Exeter met the requirement of basing USAAF troop carrier groups close to where units of the 101st Airborne Division were located and within reasonable range of the expected area of operations.
• The closest airport to Exeter International Airport (EXT) is Plymouth City Airport (PLH), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) SW of EXT.
• Exeter International Airport is located 4 miles east of the city of Exeter and is approximately 170 miles south west of London.