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):

• Roland Garros Airport handled 206,776 passengers last year.
• Roland Garros Airport (RUN) has 2 runways.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) S of RUN.
• Roland Garros Airport, formerly known as Gillot Airport, is located in Sainte-Marie on Réunion, The airport is 7 kilometres east of Saint-Denis.
• 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.
• Air Austral has its head office on the airport property.

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 March 1994, Ellsworth welcomed the 34th Bomb Squadron, a geographically separated unit that was awaiting airfield upgrades before it could return to its parent organization, the 366th Wing, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.