Nonstop flight route between Dijon, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dijon Air Base (DIJ), Dijon, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,382 miles (or 7,053 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base (DIJ):

• In addition to being known as "Dijon Air Base", another name for DIJ is "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-9)".
• The furthest airport from Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dijon Air Base (meaning Dijon Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,186 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 12 September the first American units arrived at the base.
• Dijon Air Base is one of the oldest of the Armée de l'Air, being established in 1914, having origins beginning in September 1910 as a civil airdrome.
• The first operational Luftwaffe unit to take up residence at Dijon was IV/KG 55 "Greiff", in February 1941, consisting of three squadrons numbers 10, 11 and 12, equipped with 12 Heinkel 111 bombers each.
• Because of Dijon Air Base's relatively low elevation of 726 feet, planes can take off or land at Dijon Air Base 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.
• In addition to the American units, The Free French Air Force operated B-26 Marauders from Dijon beginning on 11 October 1944.
• In 1984, the Dassault Mirage 2000C arrived, upgraded in 1999 by the 2000-5F., contributing to a modern, front-line NATO facility.
• The closest airport to Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SE of DIJ.
• With the Allied ground forces advancing into the Dijon area, the Germans evacuated the base on 10 September 1944.
• Dijon Air Base (DIJ) has 2 runways.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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 being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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 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 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.