Nonstop flight route between Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA), Kwajalein, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,637 miles (or 10,681 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Bucholz Army Airfield, 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Bucholz Army Airfield. 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):

• The furthest airport from Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,165 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is at the intersection of 44th Street and Patterson Avenue.
• In January 2012 Southwest Airlines announced it would continue Airtran flights to Grand Rapids and eventually transfer them to Southwest.
• When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.
• Because of Gerald R. Ford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 794 feet, planes can take off or land at Gerald R. Ford International 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 closest airport to Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Park Township Airport (HLM), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) W of GRR.
• In 1997 the new 8,500-foot runway 17/35 was added to allow the airport to continue operations during the $32 million reconstruction of runway 8R/26L, completed in 2001.
• Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
• The airport is the largest commercial airport in the West Michigan region and is the second largest airport in Michigan after Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
• 81,221,489 pounds of air freight were handled in 2012, representing an increase of 0.6% over the previous year.

Facts about Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA):

• The closest airport to Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) is Ebadon Airstrip (EBN), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) SSE of KWA.
• Along with the heavy bomber groups, the USAAF reassigned the F-5 -equipped 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron to Kwajalein to fly long-range photographic missions over the Marshalls and reported directly to Headquarters, Seventh Air Force.
• Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Bucholz Army Airfield (meaning Bucholz Army Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,283 miles (19,767 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• After the war, the United States used Kwajalein as a main command center and preparation base for Operation Crossroads and an extensive series of nuclear tests at the Marshalls' atolls of Bikini and Enewetak.
• Because of Bucholz Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bucholz Army Airfield 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.