Nonstop flight route between Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PIR to RDR:
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- About this route
- PIR Airport Information
- RDR Airport Information
- Facts about PIR
- Facts about RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIR
- List of Nearest Airports to PIR
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIR
- List of Furthest Airports from PIR
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 283 miles (or 456 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 relatively short distance between Pierre Regional Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIR / KPIR |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pierre, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°22'58"N by 100°17'9"W |
Area Served: | Pierre, South Dakota |
Operator/Owner: | City of Pierre |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1744 feet (532 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIR |
More Information: | PIR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Facts about Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):
- The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
- Pierre Regional Airport is a city owned, public airport three miles east of Pierre, in Hughes County, South Dakota.
- Pierre Regional Airport covers 1,735 acres at an elevation of 1,744 feet above mean sea level.
- Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
- The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
- Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
- On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
- The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
- Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
- During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.