Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Abbeville, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB), Abbeville, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,518 miles (or 7,272 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 Aerodrome Abbeville, 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 Aerodrome Abbeville. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".

Facts about Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB):

• Because of Aerodrome Abbeville's relatively low elevation of 220 feet, planes can take off or land at Aerodrome Abbeville 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 closest airport to Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB) is Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNW of XAB.
• Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Aerodrome Abbeville", other names for XAB include "Aérodrome d'Abbeville - Buigny-Saint-Maclou" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) B-92".
• Abbeville was liberated by Polish troops around 3 September 1944.
• The furthest airport from Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 220 feet above mean sea level.