Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Kotzebue, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to OTZ:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- OTZ Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about OTZ
- 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 OTZ
- List of Nearest Airports to OTZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from OTZ
- List of Furthest Airports from OTZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ), Kotzebue, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,591 miles (or 4,170 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 Ralph Wien Memorial 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 Ralph Wien Memorial 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: |
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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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | OTZ / PAOT |
Airport Name: | Ralph Wien Memorial Airport |
Location: | Kotzebue, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 66°53'4"N by 162°35'54"W |
Area Served: | Kotzebue, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from OTZ |
More Information: | OTZ 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.
- 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 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
- The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
- 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.
- Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
Facts about Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ):
- Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) has 2 runways.
- Because of Ralph Wien Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Ralph Wien Memorial 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.
- Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile south of the central business district of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S.
- The furthest airport from Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,291 miles (16,561 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The closest airport to Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of OTZ.