Nonstop flight route between Bontang, Indonesia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bontang Airport (BXT), Bontang, Indonesia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,513 miles (or 13,701 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 Bontang 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 Bontang 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 Bontang Airport (BXT):

• In addition to being known as "Bontang Airport", other names for BXT include "Bandar Udara Bontang", "Lapangan Terbang Bontang" and "WALC".
• Because of Bontang Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Bontang 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 Bontang Airport (BXT) is Barcelos Airport (BAZ), which is nearly antipodal to Bontang Airport (meaning Bontang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barcelos Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Bontang Airport (BXT) is Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN), which is located 104 miles (168 kilometers) SSW of BXT.
• Bontang Airport (BXT) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• 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.