Nonstop flight route between Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,159 miles (or 6,694 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 Groningen Airport Eelde 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 Groningen Airport Eelde 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 Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):

• The closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.
• With the airport becoming more crowded due to holiday flights, it was decided to join the two existing passenger halls together.
• Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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.
• Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.
• Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.
• The first landing of a European aeroplane took place on July 13, 1958.
• The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1933, the airport's name was changed into "NV Luchthaven Eelde".
• Early 1945, the Germans abandoned their "Fliegerhorst", as they called it.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.