Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ), Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,495 miles (or 7,234 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 Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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 Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• 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.
• In March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

Facts about Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ):

• The furthest airport from Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,965 miles (19,256 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Le Touquet has been a very popular hot spot for UK pilots as one of their first landings on non-UK soil, which makes it a popular destination for fly-outs for flying clubs.
• Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport is 2.9 kilometres east-southeast of Le Touquet, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.
• Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport", another name for LTQ is "Aéroport de Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale".
• Because of Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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 closest airport to Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) is Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of LTQ.