Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Stavanger, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG), Stavanger, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,249 miles (or 6,838 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 Stavanger-Sola 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 Stavanger-Sola 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):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG):

• When the oil exploration in the Norwegian part of the North Sea started in 1967, there was a sudden need for helicopter transport out to the oil platforms.
• In addition to being known as "Stavanger-Sola International Airport", another name for SVG is "Stavanger lufthavn, Sola".
• The furthest airport from Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,392 miles (18,334 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Stavanger-Sola International Airport handled 4,119,348 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) is Haugesund Airport, Karmøy (HAU), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNW of SVG.
• Stavanger-Sola International Airport (SVG) has 2 runways.
• The airport had 82,118 air movements and 4,119,348 passengers in 2011.
• Because of Stavanger-Sola International Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Stavanger-Sola 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.
• On 15 February 2010, Scandinavian Airlines announced that Widerøe would take over their regional routes connecting airports in Western Norway, including the route from Stavanger to Kristiansand.
• On March 31, 2012 the board of Pratt & Whitney also decided to close the Pratt & Whitney Norway Engine Center.