Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco):

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Melilla Airport (MLN), Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,015 miles (or 8,071 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 Melilla 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 Melilla 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".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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 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.
• 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 Melilla Airport (MLN):

• In addition to being known as "Melilla Airport", another name for MLN is "Aeropuerto de Melilla".
• The furthest airport from Melilla Airport (MLN) is Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Melilla Airport (meaning Melilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Great Barrier Aerodrome), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
• Melilla Airport (MLN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following the conflict between Spain and Morocco, a new military airfield was built near Cabrerizas Altas.
• In 1969, the current airport was opened within Melilla's borders and was strictly a civilian facility.
• Because of Melilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Melilla 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 Melilla Airport (MLN) is Cherif Al Idrissi Airport (AHU), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) W of MLN.