Nonstop flight route between Ramstein, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,742 miles (or 7,631 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 Ramstein Air Base and Ellsworth Air Force 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 Ramstein Air Base and Ellsworth Air Force Base. 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 Ramstein Air Base (RMS):

• In December 1980, HQ Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force was moved from Ramstein to Heidelberg and co-located with HQ Central Army Group.
• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• Near the Ramstein Air Base is the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, operated by the United States Army.
• During the initial postwar era, the USAAF repaired several former Luftwaffe airfields in Bavaria which was part of the American occupation zone of Germany.
• In 1940, construction of today's Bundesautobahn 6 was stopped when a bridge that was being built across the Rhine River near Mannheim collapsed, leaving a section of autobahn that could not be used.
• The closest airport to Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of RMS.
• The furthest airport from Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Ramstein Air Base (meaning Ramstein Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008.

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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.