Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Oakham, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and RAF Cottesmore (OKH), Oakham, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,323 miles (or 6,957 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 RAF Cottesmore, 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 RAF Cottesmore. 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):

• 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".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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 RAF Cottesmore (OKH):

• The closest airport to RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is East Midlands Airport (EMA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WNW of OKH.
• RAF Cottesmore (OKH) currently has only 1 runway.
• In early December 2009, it was announced the station would close due to funding cut-backs, in part to help pay for additional helicopters for British operations in Afghanistan.
• RAF Cottesmore opened on 11 March 1938.
• The motto "We rise to our obstacles" is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties.
• In 1957 it was announced that Cottesmore would became a base for aircraft of the V bomber force, carriers of Britain's nuclear deterrent.
• Cottesmore's Hampdens' first trespass into hostile airspace was a leaflet dropping operation over northern France.
• Because of RAF Cottesmore's relatively low elevation of 463 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Cottesmore 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 furthest airport from RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,813 miles (19,011 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• On 8 September 1943 the United States Army Air Forces took the facilities over, under the designation USAAF Station 489, flying troop transport aircraft.