Nonstop flight route between Parchim, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Schwerin-Parchim Airport (SZW), Parchim, Germany and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,677 miles (or 7,527 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 Schwerin-Parchim 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 Schwerin-Parchim 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 Schwerin-Parchim Airport (SZW):

• The closest airport to Schwerin-Parchim Airport (SZW) is Rostock–Laage Airport (RLG), which is located 39 miles (64 kilometers) NNE of SZW.
• The furthest airport from Schwerin-Parchim Airport (SZW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,674 miles (18,788 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Schwerin-Parchim Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Schwerin-Parchim 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.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.