Nonstop flight route between Saint-Étienne / Bouthéon, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (EBU), Saint-Étienne / Bouthéon, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,437 miles (or 7,140 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 Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon 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 Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon 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 Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (EBU):

• The furthest airport from Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (EBU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (meaning Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,312 miles (19,814 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport", another name for EBU is "Aéroport de Saint-Étienne – Bouthéon".
• The closest airport to Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (EBU) is Lyon–Bron Airport (LYN), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) ENE of EBU.
• Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport (EBU) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.