Nonstop flight route between Brest, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BES to RDR:
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- About this route
- BES Airport Information
- RDR Airport Information
- Facts about BES
- Facts about RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to BES
- List of Nearest Airports to BES
- Map of Furthest Airports from BES
- List of Furthest Airports from BES
- 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 Brest Bretagne Airport (BES), Brest, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,994 miles (or 6,428 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 Brest Bretagne 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 Brest Bretagne 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: | BES / LFRB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Brest, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°26'49"N by 4°25'18"W |
Area Served: | Brest, France |
Operator/Owner: | Chamber of Commerce |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 325 feet (99 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BES |
More Information: | BES 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 Brest Bretagne Airport (BES):
- Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) is Morlaix - Ploujean Airport (MXN), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of BES.
- Because of Brest Bretagne Airport's relatively low elevation of 325 feet, planes can take off or land at Brest Bretagne 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.
- The furthest airport from Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Brest Bretagne Airport (meaning Brest Bretagne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,130 miles (19,522 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Though the main operator is Air France, serving for the most part Paris and Lyon, other scheduled services are offered elsewhere in France and to the UK.
- In addition to being known as "Brest Bretagne Airport", another name for BES is "Aéroport de Brest Bretagne".
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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
- 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.
- On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
- 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.
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.