Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Flanders, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), Flanders, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,505 miles (or 7,251 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 Ostend-Bruges International 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 Ostend-Bruges International 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".
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.

Facts about Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST):

• During the Second World War, the German occupiers moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of Middelkerke, five kilometres southwest of Ostend.
• The closest airport to Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of OST.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport handled 678,638 passengers last year.
• In 1992, the ownership of the regional Flemish airport was transferred from the Belgian State to the Flemish Region.
• The operations department of the airline Meridian Airways is Suites 150-154 of the Freight Building.
• Because of Ostend-Bruges International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Ostend-Bruges International 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.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,925 miles (19,192 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.