Nonstop flight route between St Denis, Réunion, France and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roland Garros Airport (RUN), St Denis, Réunion, France and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,416 miles (or 16,763 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 Roland Garros Airport 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 Roland Garros Airport 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 Roland Garros Airport (RUN):

• Air Austral has its head office on the airport property.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 66 feet above mean sea level.
• Roland Garros Airport handled 206,776 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Roland Garros Airport", other names for RUN include "Aéroport de la Réunion Roland Garros" and "Saint Denis Gillot Airport".
• Roland Garros Airport (RUN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,615 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• Because of Roland Garros Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Roland Garros 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.
• The closest airport to Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) S of RUN.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.