Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Gomel, Belarus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Gomel Airport (GME), Gomel, Belarus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,222 miles (or 8,404 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 Gomel 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 Gomel 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):

• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.

Facts about Gomel Airport (GME):

• Gomel Airport is an airport located 3 km north-east from Gomel, the second-largest city in Belarus.
• In addition to being known as "Gomel Airport", other names for GME include "Аэрапорт Гомель" and "Аэропорт Гомель".
• Because of Gomel Airport's relatively low elevation of 472 feet, planes can take off or land at Gomel 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 Gomel Airport (GME) is Chernihiv Airport (CEJ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) S of GME.
• The furthest airport from Gomel Airport (GME) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,046 miles (17,777 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Gomel airport was a hub of a regional air company "Gomelavia", which ceased operations on 22 February 2011 due to bankruptcy.
• Gomel Airport (GME) currently has only 1 runway.
• Gomel airport is now mainly used for charter flights to Italy, Belgium, Spain and some other Western European countries, those flights are organised by Western European organisations that take children from Gomel and its region to the West Europe with an eye to tourism.