Nonstop flight route between Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN), Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,210 miles (or 14,822 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 Bloemfontein International 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 Bloemfontein International 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN):

• Because of Bloemfontein International Airport's high elevation of 4,457 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BFN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BFN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In 2012, the airport served 426,420 passengers.
• The closest airport to Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) SE of BFN.
• The furthest airport from Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,855 miles (19,079 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN) has 2 runways.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.