Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:
Departure Airport:
(44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W)
Arrival Airport:
(49°58'32"N by 6°41'49"E)
Distance from RCA to SPM:
4,687.05 miles (7,543.06 km)
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- SPM Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about SPM
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPM
- List of Nearest Airports to SPM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPM
- List of Furthest Airports from SPM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,687 miles (or 7,543 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 Spangdahlem Air Base, 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 Spangdahlem Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
| More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPM / ETAD |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Spangdahlem, Germany |
| GPS Coordinates: | 49°58'32"N by 6°41'49"E |
| Operator/Owner: | United States of America |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPM |
| More Information: | SPM Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- 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 AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
- 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.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
- When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):
- The 49 TFW remained at Spangdahlem AB until 1 July 1968 when it relocated to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to serve as the US Air Force’s first dual-based, NATO-committed wing.
- Upon its arrival at Spangdahlem AB, the 10 TRW operated Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star for daylight aerial recon and the Douglas RB-26C Invader for night recon missions.
- The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
- In April 1987, the 52d began changing with the times and replaced its aging Phantoms with Block 30/32 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons for the 23d and 480th TFSs.
- The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
- The 19th TRS operated from RAF Sculthorpe united Kingdom during 1958, moving to Spangdahlem in 1959.
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 7.04 miles (11.33 km) S | Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |     |
| 2 | 41.93 miles (67.49 km) WNW | Black Hills Airport (SPF) | Spearfish, South Dakota, United States | |
| 3 | 82.62 miles (132.96 km) SSE | Pine Ridge Airport (XPR) | Pine Ridge, South Dakota, United States | |
| 4 | 90.44 miles (145.55 km) S | Chadron Municipal Airport (CDR) | Chadron, Nebraska, United States | |
| 5 | 122.78 miles (197.60 km) W | Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC) | Gillette, Wyoming, United States | |
| 6 | 138.94 miles (223.59 km) E | Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) | Pierre, South Dakota, United States | |
| 7 | 142.03 miles (228.58 km) N | Bowman Municipal Airport (BWM) | Bowman, North Dakota, United States | |
| 8 | 145.26 miles (233.77 km) S | Alliance Municipal Airport (AIA) | Alliance, Nebraska, United States | |
| 9 | 148.71 miles (239.33 km) SW | Converse County Airport (DGW) | Douglas, Wyoming, United States | |
| 10 | 153.78 miles (247.49 km) SSW | Torrington Municipal Airport (TOR) | Torrington, Wyoming, United States | |
| 11 | 154.79 miles (249.12 km) SE | Miller Field (VTN) | Valentine, Nebraska, United States | |
| 12 | 159.20 miles (256.21 km) S | Western Nebraska Regional Airport (BFF) | Scottsbluff, Nebraska, United States | |
| 13 | 162.60 miles (261.68 km) NE | Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG) | Mobridge, South Dakota, United States | |
| 14 | 183.63 miles (295.52 km) N | Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport (DIK) | Dickinson, North Dakota, United States | |
| 15 | 188.89 miles (303.99 km) SE | Ainsworth Regional Airport (ANW) | Ainsworth, Nebraska, United States | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 10,579.32 miles (17,025.72 km) SSE | Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG) | Rodrigues Island, Mauritius | |
| 2 | 10,460.72 miles (16,834.85 km) SE | Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) | Plaisance, Mauritius | |
| 3 | 10,437.71 miles (16,797.83 km) SE | Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE) | Saint-Pierre, Réunion | |
| 4 | 10,415.77 miles (16,762.51 km) SE | Roland Garros Airport (RUN) | St Denis, Réunion, France | |
| 5 | 10,301.11 miles (16,577.99 km) ESE | Tôlanaro Airport (FTU) | Tôlanaro, Madagascar | |
| 6 | 10,292.17 miles (16,563.61 km) W | Margaret River Airport (MGV) | Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 7 | 10,268.77 miles (16,525.95 km) W | Busselton Regional Airport (BQB) | Busselton, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 8 | 10,252.53 miles (16,499.80 km) W | Manjimup Airport (MJP) | Manjimup, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 9 | 10,244.09 miles (16,486.22 km) W | Bunbury Airport (BUY) | Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 10 | 10,200.19 miles (16,415.58 km) W | Rottnest Airport (RTS) | Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 11 | 10,193.03 miles (16,404.05 km) W | Albany Airport (ALH) | Albany, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 12 | 10,186.88 miles (16,394.16 km) W | Jandakot Airport (JAD) | Jandakot, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 13 | 10,186.40 miles (16,393.38 km) ESE | Ampanihy Airport (AMP) | Ampanihy, Madagascar | |
| 14 | 10,176.73 miles (16,377.83 km) W | Perth Airport (PER) | Perth, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 15 | 10,162.30 miles (16,354.60 km) SE | Mananjary Airport (MNJ) | Mananjary, Madagascar | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 6.24 miles (10.05 km) WSW | Bitburg Airport (BBJ) | Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | |
| 2 | 25.27 miles (40.67 km) E | Frankfurt–Hahn Airport (HHN) | Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | |
| 3 | 32.80 miles (52.79 km) SW | Luxembourg Airport (LUX) | Luxembourg-Findel, Luxembourg | |
| 4 | 54.64 miles (87.94 km) SE | Ramstein Air Base (RMS) | Ramstein, Germany | |
| 5 | 55.75 miles (89.72 km) SSE | Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) | Saarbrücken, Germany | |
| 6 | 60.64 miles (97.59 km) ESE | Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) | Sembach, Germany | |
| 7 | 61.61 miles (99.16 km) SSE | Zweibrücken Airport (ZQW) | Zweibrücken, Germany | |
| 8 | 62.73 miles (100.95 km) NNW | Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) | Aachen, Germany | |
| 9 | 64.40 miles (103.64 km) E | Mainz Finthen Airport (QMZ) | Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | |
| 10 | 64.55 miles (103.88 km) NNE | Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) | Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | |
| 11 | 71.77 miles (115.51 km) NW | Liège Airport (LGG) | Liège, Wallonia, Belgium | |
| 12 | 71.83 miles (115.59 km) SSW | Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) | Lorraine, France | |
| 13 | 72.43 miles (116.56 km) E | Lucius D. Clay KaserneWiesbaden Army AirfieldWiesbaden Air BaseAdvanced Landing Ground Y-80Fliegerhorst Wiesbaden (WIE) | Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany | |
| 14 | 73.90 miles (118.92 km) NNW | NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | |
| 15 | 76.53 miles (123.17 km) NNW | Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) | Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands | |
| Rank | Distance & Direction | Airport Name & IATA Code | Airport Location | Further Actions |
| 1 | 11,985.60 miles (19,288.91 km) SSE | Chatham Islands (CHT) | Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand | |
| 2 | 11,632.12 miles (18,720.03 km) ESE | Christchurch International Airport (CHC) | Christchurch, New Zealand | |
| 3 | 11,631.72 miles (18,719.39 km) ESE | Oamaru Airport (OAM) | Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand | |
| 4 | 11,625.76 miles (18,709.80 km) ESE | Dunedin International Airport (DUD) | Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand | |
| 5 | 11,623.76 miles (18,706.58 km) SE | Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ) | Kaikoura, New Zealand | |
| 6 | 11,620.34 miles (18,701.07 km) ESE | Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG) | Ashburton, New Zealand | |
| 7 | 11,617.52 miles (18,696.55 km) SE | Hood Aerodrome (MRO) | Masterton, New Zealand | |
| 8 | 11,612.95 miles (18,689.18 km) ESE | Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU) | Timaru, New Zealand | |
| 9 | 11,609.90 miles (18,684.28 km) SE | Wellington International Airport (WLG) | Wellington, New Zealand | |
| 10 | 11,593.20 miles (18,657.40 km) SE | Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) | Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand | |
| 11 | 11,588.13 miles (18,649.24 km) SE | Woodbourne Airport (BHE) | Blenheim, New Zealand | |
| 12 | 11,580.45 miles (18,636.88 km) SE | Palmerston North Airport (PMR) | Palmerston North, New Zealand | |
| 13 | 11,567.60 miles (18,616.20 km) ESE | Alexandra Aerodrome (ALR) | Alexandra, New Zealand | |
| 14 | 11,566.80 miles (18,614.92 km) SE | Hawke's Bay Airport (NPE) | Napier, New Zealand | |
| 15 | 11,560.82 miles (18,605.29 km) E | Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) | Stewart Island, New Zealand | |