Nonstop flight route between Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,608 miles (or 13,854 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 Coffs Harbour 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 Coffs Harbour 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 Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS):

• Because of Coffs Harbour Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Coffs Harbour 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.
• Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) has 2 runways.
• The airport was established by the Council in 1928.
• Open air paid parking is provided for over 200 cars.
• The furthest airport from Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,967 miles (19,258 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of CFS.

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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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 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.