Nonstop flight route between St. Michael, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMK to RDR:
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- About this route
- SMK Airport Information
- RDR Airport Information
- Facts about SMK
- Facts about RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMK
- List of Nearest Airports to SMK
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMK
- List of Furthest Airports from SMK
- 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 St. Michael Airport (SMK), St. Michael, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,598 miles (or 4,181 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 St. Michael 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 St. Michael 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: | SMK / PAMK |
Airport Name: | St. Michael Airport |
Location: | St. Michael, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 63°29'24"N by 162°6'37"W |
Area Served: | St. Michael, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 98 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMK |
More Information: | SMK 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 St. Michael Airport (SMK):
- The closest airport to St. Michael Airport (SMK) is Stebbins Airport (WBB), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of SMK.
- The furthest airport from St. Michael Airport (SMK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,397 miles (16,732 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- St. Michael Airport (SMK) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of St. Michael Airport's relatively low elevation of 98 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Michael 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.
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- 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 DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
- 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.
- On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.