Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and La Seu d'Urgell, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and La Seu d'Urgell airport (LEU), La Seu d'Urgell, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,860 miles (or 7,821 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 La Seu d'Urgell 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 La Seu d'Urgell 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):

• 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 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.

Facts about La Seu d'Urgell airport (LEU):

• The airport opened in 1982 but was closed to commercial traffic in 1984 and was used only by private aeroplanes until 2008, when the airport was purchased by the Catalan government and closed pending its redevelopment and reopening as a commercial airport.
• The closest airport to La Seu d'Urgell airport (LEU) is Lleida–Alguaire Airport (ILD), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) SW of LEU.
• The furthest airport from La Seu d'Urgell airport (LEU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to La Seu d'Urgell airport (meaning La Seu d'Urgell airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,289 miles (19,777 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• La Seu d'Urgell airport, officially Pirineus - la Seu d'Urgel airport and also known as Pirineus-Andorra airport is an airport facility owned by the Government of Catalonia and hosts general aviation and emergency flights.
• There are plans to allow regular or tourist charter flights from the summer of 2014.
• La Seu d'Urgell airport (LEU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "La Seu d'Urgell airport", other names for LEU include "Aeroport de la Seu d'Urgell" and "Aeroport Pirineus - la Seu d'Urgell".
• Because of La Seu d'Urgell airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at La Seu d'Urgell 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.