Nonstop flight route between Belleville, Illinois, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV), Belleville, Illinois, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 753 miles (or 1,212 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 relatively short distance between MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV):

• The passenger terminal was planned as an expandable facility that will provide passenger accommodations for the initial opening of the MidAmerica Airport.
• In addition to being known as "MidAmerica St. Louis Airport", another name for BLV is "Scott Air Force Base".
• Because of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport's relatively low elevation of 459 feet, planes can take off or land at MidAmerica St. Louis 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.
• MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Boeing and Northbay have recently constructed additions to their facilities at MidAmerica Airport.
• Between late 2009 and August 2010, one air cargo company, LAN Cargo, used the airport to import flowers from Bogota, Colombia, totaling one flight each week until the county abruptly ended the flights.
• MidAmerica's construction has included creation of the 10,000-foot 14L/32R runway, adding 1,000 feet to the existing west runway, adding passenger and cargo terminals on the east side of the facility and a 7,000-foot taxiway connecting the two runways.
• The closest airport to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) is St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) W of BLV.

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 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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".