Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Zaragoza, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ), Zaragoza, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,797 miles (or 7,721 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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.

Facts about Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ):

• Zaragoza was one of three major USAF Cold War airbases in Spain, the others being Torrejón Air Base near Madrid and Morón Air Base near Seville.
• Because of Zaragoza Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Zaragoza 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.
• Zaragoza Airport is a commercial airport near Zaragoza, Spain.
• The furthest airport from Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Zaragoza Airport (meaning Zaragoza Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Huesca–Pirineos Airport (HSK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) NE of ZAZ.
• In addition to being known as "Zaragoza Airport", another name for ZAZ is "Aeropuerto de Zaragoza".