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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ), Bologna, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,105 miles (or 8,216 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport. 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.

Facts about Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ):

• The furthest airport from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (meaning Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,050 miles (19,392 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• For the period 2011–2013, the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport planned the restyling and expansion of the Terminal.
• The closest airport to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) is Forlì Airport (FRL), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) ESE of BLQ.
• Because of Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi 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.
• Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport handled 6,193,783 passengers last year.
• Once completed, the Marconi Express monorail will connect the airport to Bologna Centrale railway station in 7 minutes.
• In addition to being known as "Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport", another name for BLQ is "Aeroporto di Bologna-Guglielmo Marconi".