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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), Leipzig, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,789 miles (or 7,708 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 Leipzig/Halle 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 Leipzig/Halle 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.

Facts about Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ):

• The closest airport to Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) is Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSE of LEJ.
• Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) has 2 runways.
• Leipzig/Halle Airport railway station is located directly beneath the passenger terminal and has national connections to cities like Magdeburg, Hanover, Cologne and Dresden.
• Leipzig/Halle Airport handled 2,286,151 passengers last year.
• Despite its name, the airport ground property tax goes to the county of Delitzsch.
• In addition to being known as "Leipzig/Halle Airport", another name for LEJ is "Flughafen Leipzig/Halle".
• The furthest airport from Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Leipzig/Halle Airport's relatively low elevation of 470 feet, planes can take off or land at Leipzig/Halle 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.