Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to PUK:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- PUK Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about PUK
- 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 PUK
- List of Nearest Airports to PUK
- Map of Furthest Airports from PUK
- List of Furthest Airports from PUK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Pukarua Airport (PUK), Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,191 miles (or 8,354 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 Pukarua 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 Pukarua 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: | PUK / NTGQ |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 18°17'44"S by 137°1'0"W |
Area Served: | Pukarua |
Operator/Owner: | DSEAC Polynésie Française |
Airport Type: | Public |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PUK |
More Information: | PUK Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- 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.
- Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
- 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.
- Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Pukarua Airport (PUK):
- Pukarua Airport (PUK) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Pukarua Airport", another name for PUK is "Aérodrome de Pukarua".
- The furthest airport from Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Abha Regional Airport (AHB), which is nearly antipodal to Pukarua Airport (meaning Pukarua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abha Regional Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia.
- The closest airport to Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 134 miles (215 kilometers) WSW of PUK.