Nonstop flight route between Dunkerque, France and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK), Dunkerque, France and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,502 miles (or 7,246 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 Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield 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 Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield 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 Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK):

• The closest airport to Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK) is Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NE of XDK.
• The furthest airport from Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield's relatively low elevation of -3 feet, planes can take off or land at Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield 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.

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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.