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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), Mönchengladbach, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,622 miles (or 7,438 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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):

• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.

Facts about Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL):

• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MGL.
• The furthest airport from Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,161 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The British Army of the Rhine undertook an exercise in 1955, in accord with the then NATO-Strategy of quick reaction.
• Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport", another name for MGL is "Verkehrslandeplatz Mönchengladbach".
• Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport is a small regional airport located 4.4 km northeast of Mönchengladbach and 15.2 km west of Düsseldorf.
• Because of Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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.