Nonstop flight route between Butare, Rwanda and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Butare Airport (BTQ), Butare, Rwanda and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,011 miles (or 12,893 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 Butare 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 Butare 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 Butare Airport (BTQ):

• The furthest airport from Butare Airport (BTQ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,946 miles (19,224 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Butare Airport (BTQ) is Kirundo Airport (KRE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) E of BTQ.
• Because of Butare Airport's high elevation of 5,801 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BTQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BTQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Butare Airport (BTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Butare Airport is a small civilian airport that serves the town of Butare.
• In addition to being known as "Butare Airport", another name for BTQ is "Butare".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.