Nonstop flight route between Pico Island, Azores, Portugal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PIX to RDR:
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- About this route
- PIX Airport Information
- RDR Airport Information
- Facts about PIX
- Facts about RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to PIX
- List of Nearest Airports to PIX
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIX
- List of Furthest Airports from PIX
- 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 Pico Airport (PIX), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,413 miles (or 5,492 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 Pico Airport and Grand Forks 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 Pico Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PIX / LPPI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pico Island, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°33'15"N by 28°26'29"W |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 112 feet (34 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIX |
More Information: | PIX 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 Pico Airport (PIX):
- The first studies were completed to construct a runway for the remote island of Pico during the post-War era when, instead, a final decision in 1946 saw the construction of an aerodrome on the island of Faial.
- The furthest airport from Pico Airport (PIX) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Pico Airport (meaning Pico Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,291 miles (19,781 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
- On April 2005, Pico received its first intercontinental flight, a direct flight from Lisbon.
- Because of Pico Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Pico 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.
- The closest airport to Pico Airport (PIX) is Horta International Airport (HOR), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of PIX.
- Pico Airport (PIX) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Pico Airport", another name for PIX is "Aeroporto do Pico".
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
- In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
- In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
- 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.