Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Wroclaw, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO), Wroclaw, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,941 miles (or 7,952 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 Copernicus Airport Wrocław, 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 Copernicus Airport Wrocław. 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):

• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.

Facts about Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO):

• Wrocław–Copernicus Airport is an international commercial airport in Wrocław in southwestern Poland.
• In addition to being known as "Copernicus Airport Wrocław", another name for WRO is "Port Lotniczy Wrocław im. Mikołaja Kopernika".
• The furthest airport from Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,637 miles (18,728 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 19 July 2006 the architectural firm JSK was chosen to design a significant airport expansion.
• The airport was built in 1938 for German military purposes before World War II.
• Because of Copernicus Airport Wrocław's relatively low elevation of 404 feet, planes can take off or land at Copernicus Airport Wrocław 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 first international flights were inaugurated in January 1993, serving Frankfurt, Germany.
• The airport operates modern domestic, international and cargo terminals.
• The closest airport to Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO) is Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport (IEG), which is located 85 miles (137 kilometers) NNW of WRO.
• Copernicus Airport Wrocław (WRO) currently has only 1 runway.