Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to FBK:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- FBK Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about FBK
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to FBK
- List of Nearest Airports to FBK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FBK
- List of Furthest Airports from FBK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,163 miles (or 3,481 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Ladd Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
|
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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FBK / PAFB |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°50'15"N by 147°36'51"W |
Area Served: | Fort Wainwright |
Operator/Owner: | United States Army |
Airport Type: | Military: Army Airfield |
Elevation: | 454 feet (138 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FBK |
More Information: | FBK Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- 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.
- SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
- Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
- With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
- 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.
Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):
- The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
- The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
- In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
- Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
- Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
- Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.