Nonstop flight route between Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC), Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,607 miles (or 12,242 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 Cape Gloucester 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 Cape Gloucester 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 Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC):

• Because of Cape Gloucester Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Gloucester 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.
• Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Finschhafen Airport (FIN), which is located 90 miles (144 kilometers) SSW of CGC.
• In addition to being known as "Cape Gloucester Airport", other names for CGC include "CPG" and "Cape Gloucester Airport".
• The furthest airport from Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,791 miles (18,975 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• In addition, the 12th Defense Battalion was assigned to the airfield between 30 December 1943 - late May 1944 Australian RAAF Units Based at Cape Gloucester consisted of the 78 Squadron, equipped with P-40 Warhawks.

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.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• 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.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.