Nonstop flight route between Venice, Italy and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), Venice, Italy and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,091 miles (or 8,194 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 Venice Marco Polo 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 Venice Marco Polo 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 Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE):

• Venice Marco Polo Airport is an airport located on the Italian mainland 4.3 nautical miles north of Venice, Italy, in Tessera, a Frazione of the Comune of Venice nearest to Mestre.
• The airport is managed by SAVE S.p.A., a company partially owned by local authorities which also controls the smaller Treviso Airport, dedicated mainly to low-cost carriers.
• Because of Venice Marco Polo Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Venice Marco Polo 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 furthest airport from Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,989 miles (19,294 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Venice Marco Polo Airport handled 8,403,790 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is Treviso-Sant'Angelo Airport (TSF), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) NW of VCE.
• In addition to being known as "Venice Marco Polo Airport", other names for VCE include "Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo" and "Aeroporto di Venezia-Tessera".
• Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) has 2 runways.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.