Nonstop flight route between Ceuta, Spain and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ceuta Heliport (JCU), Ceuta, Spain and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,888 miles (or 7,867 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 Ceuta Heliport 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 Ceuta Heliport 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 Ceuta Heliport (JCU):

• Ceuta Heliport handled 5,673 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Ceuta Heliport (JCU) is Gibraltar International Airport (GIB), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) N of JCU.
• This infrastructure is key to Ceuta because it allows passengers to connect in minutes through Malaga, giving Ceuta access to almost all cities served from Andalucia.
• Since 9 January 2004, it has been possible to fly to Ceuta from Málaga by helicopter.
• Because of Ceuta Heliport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ceuta Heliport 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ceuta Heliport", another name for JCU is "Helipuerto de Ceuta".
• The furthest airport from Ceuta Heliport (JCU) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is nearly antipodal to Ceuta Heliport (meaning Ceuta Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whangarei Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,982 kilometers) away in Whangarei, New Zealand.
• The route is covered by Helicópteros del Sureste, a transport company based in Mutxamel, Alicante.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• 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 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.