Nonstop flight route between West Chicago, Illinois, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 612 miles (or 985 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 relatively short distance between DuPage Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about DuPage Airport (DPA):

• DuPage Airport is located on what used to be sheep-grazing land, but in 1927, two Chicago entrepreneurs purchased the land and began barnstorming, using the field as a grass strip.
• Because of DuPage Airport's relatively low elevation of 759 feet, planes can take off or land at DuPage 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 DuPage Airport Authority owns 2,800 acres and operates four separate business units.
• The furthest airport from DuPage Airport (DPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to DuPage Airport (DPA) is Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of DPA.
• DuPage Airport also serves as the headquarters for Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
• In June 2010, the board of the DuPage National Technology Park, an 800-acre technology park that secured a $34 million state grant called for the dissolution of their organization.
• DuPage Airport (DPA) has 4 runways.
• The airport grew from 900 acres in 1985 to 2,800 acres by 1992, with the goal of maintaining control of all the property surrounding the runway complex.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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.