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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Paris-Orly, Paris, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,601 miles (or 7,405 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 Paris Orly 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 Paris Orly 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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".
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• 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.

Facts about Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

• The furthest airport from Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Paris Orly Airport (meaning Paris Orly Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,093 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Paris Orly Airport (ORY) has 3 runways.
• Originally known as Villeneuve-Orly Airport, the facility was opened in the southern suburbs of Paris in 1932 as a secondary airport to Le Bourget.
• Because of Paris Orly Airport's relatively low elevation of 291 feet, planes can take off or land at Paris Orly 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.
• Paris Orly Airport handled 28,274,154 passengers last year.
• Orly Airport extends over 15.3 square kilometres of land.
• Orly Airport is connected to the A106 autoroute.
• As a result of the Battle of France in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying German Luftwaffe as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation.
• The closest airport to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of ORY.
• In addition to being known as "Paris Orly Airport", another name for ORY is "Aéroport de Paris-Orly".