Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Westerland, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sylt Airport (GWT), Westerland, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,505 miles (or 7,251 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 Sylt 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 Sylt 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.

Facts about Sylt Airport (GWT):

• The closest airport to Sylt Airport (GWT) is Vojens Airport (SKS), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ENE of GWT.
• The furthest airport from Sylt Airport (GWT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,640 miles (18,733 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The island of Sylt used to be a famous destination for leisure and holidays back in the beginning of the 20th century.
• Sylt Airport (GWT) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Sylt Airport", another name for GWT is "Flughafen Sylt".
• Sylt Airport handled 21,000 passengers last year.
• Because of Sylt Airport's relatively low elevation of 51 feet, planes can take off or land at Sylt 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.