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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Duxford Aerodrome (QFO), Duxford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,376 miles (or 7,042 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 Duxford 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 Duxford 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):

• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 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 Duxford Aerodrome (QFO):

• In addition to being known as "Duxford Aerodrome", other names for QFO include "Royal Air Force Station Duxford" and "USAAF Station 357".
• On 9 September the Duxford squadrons successfully intercepted and turned back a large force of German bombers before they reached their target.
• Because of Duxford Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Duxford 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.
• The furthest airport from Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,843 miles (19,060 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of QFO.
• Duxford was too far south and too far inland to be strategically important and the costly improvements required for modern supersonic fighters could not be justified.
• The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum and is the site of the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the American Air Museum.
• Duxford Aerodrome is located 8 nautical miles south of Cambridge, within the Parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly 1-mile west of the village.
• Duxford was the initial home of the 5th Air Defense Wing which arrived from Norfolk Municipal Airport, Virginia on 3 July 1943.
• Duxford airfield was assigned to the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 and then became known by the USAAF as "Station 357 ".
• In 1936 Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle, who was studying at Cambridge University, flew regularly from Duxford as a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron.
• Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) has 2 runways.