Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Northampton / Peterborough, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Sywell Aerodrome (ORM), Northampton / Peterborough, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,336 miles (or 6,978 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 Sywell Aerodrome, 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 Sywell Aerodrome. 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):

• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.

Facts about Sywell Aerodrome (ORM):

• The aerodrome opened in 1928 and during the Second World War the aerodrome as RAF Sywell, was used as a training facility and later an important centre for the repair of Wellington bombers and extensive sheds from this time still remain on the site.
• The organizations STARE and CPRE campaigned against this change, arguing that it would lead to more and larger aircraft flying over the area and disturb its "rural tranquility".
• Since 1999, the aerodrome has sought planning permission for a hard runway, which was intended to allow operations to continue over the winter, when the grass runways often become waterlogged.
• Because of Sywell Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Sywell Aerodrome 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.
• Sywell Aerodrome (ORM) has 4 runways.
• The aereodrome also houses the Sywell Aviation Museum dedicated to telling the wartime history of the site and the airmen that used it.
• In addition to being known as "Sywell Aerodrome", another name for ORM is "Northampton/Sywell Aerodrome".
• The closest airport to Sywell Aerodrome (ORM) is Milton Keynes Airport (KYN), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) S of ORM.
• Music in Flight is an airshow held at Sywell, in which an orchestra plays classical music to accompany flying aircraft, hot air balloons, the Red Devils parachute display team and a fireworks display.
• A viewing area is provided for aircraft spotters.
• In 2009, Sywell was awarded the Best General Aviation Airport 2009 airport member award by the Airport Operators Association.
• The furthest airport from Sywell Aerodrome (ORM) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,838 miles (19,051 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.