Nonstop flight route between Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Graciosa Airport (GRW), Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,410 miles (or 5,488 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa Airport (GRW):

• The furthest airport from Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Graciosa Airport (meaning Graciosa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) SSW of GRW.
• Because of Graciosa Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Graciosa 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.
• Graciosa Airport (GRW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.