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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ingolstadt Manching Airport (IGS), Ingolstadt, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,903 miles (or 7,890 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 Ingolstadt Manching 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 Ingolstadt Manching 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):

• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.

Facts about Ingolstadt Manching Airport (IGS):

• Ingolstadt Manching Airport, or Fliegerhorst Ingolstadt/Manching in German, is a military airbase with civil usage located in Manching near Ingolstadt, Germany.
• No scheduled flights are offered to and from Ingolstadt Manching.
• The closest airport to Ingolstadt Manching Airport (IGS) is Munich Airport (MUC), which is located 28 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of IGS.
• The furthest airport from Ingolstadt Manching Airport (IGS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,927 miles (19,194 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Ingolstadt Manching Airport", another name for IGS is "Fliegerhorst Ingolstadt/Manching".