Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Manzini, Swaziland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to MTS:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- MTS Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about MTS
- 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 MTS
- List of Nearest Airports to MTS
- Map of Furthest Airports from MTS
- List of Furthest Airports from MTS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Matsapha Airport (MTS), Manzini, Swaziland would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,324 miles (or 15,005 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Matsapha 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Matsapha Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | MTS / FDMS |
Airport Name: | Matsapha Airport |
Location: | Manzini, Swaziland |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°31'44"S by 31°18'27"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2075 feet (632 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MTS |
More Information: | MTS Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at 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.
- Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
Facts about Matsapha Airport (MTS):
- Matsapha Airport (MTS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) N of MTS.
- The furthest airport from Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.