Nonstop flight route between Gillette, Wyoming, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC), Gillette, Wyoming, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 462 miles (or 744 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 Gillette–Campbell County 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 Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC):

• Gillette–Campbell County Airport is five miles northwest of Gillette in Campbell County, Wyoming.
• Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,622 miles (17,094 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Gillette–Campbell County Airport (GCC) is Sheridan County Airport (SHR), which is located 77 miles (123 kilometers) WNW of GCC.
• Because of Gillette–Campbell County Airport's high elevation of 4,364 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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 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.
• 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 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.