Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Hannover Airport (HAJ), Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,662 miles (or 7,503 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 Hannover 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 Hannover 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):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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 Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Hannover Airport (HAJ):

• In the 1990s trials to establish intercontinental services to the United States and Canada were stopped due to low passenger numbers.
• Hannover Airport (HAJ) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,776 miles (18,952 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Hannover Airport", another name for HAJ is "Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen".
• Hannover Airport is the international airport of Hanover, the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony.
• As of November 2013 concourse A is closed for refurbishment scheduled until July 2014.
• Hannover Flughafen railway station is located beneath Terminal C and features frequent services of S-Bahn line S5 to Hannover city centre.
• The closest airport to Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Celle Air Base (ZCN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of HAJ.
• Because of Hannover Airport's relatively low elevation of 183 feet, planes can take off or land at Hannover 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 additional Terminal D to the east of the main terminal is a rebuilt hangar which is exclusively used by the Royal Air Force to supply British troops in the north of Germany.