Nonstop flight route between Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,620 miles (or 5,826 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo International 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo International 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 José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE):

• The closest airport to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is General Ulpiano Paez Airport (SNC), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) W of GYE.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport", another name for GYE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo".
• The furthest airport from José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) is Aek Godang Airport (AEG), which is nearly antipodal to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (meaning José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aek Godang Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Padang Sidempuan, Indonesia.
• The airport, which had the newest terminal in Ecuador, was renamed after José Joaquín de Olmedo in 2006, in preparation for the inauguration of the new 50,000 m2 national and international terminal on 27 July 2006.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport was named "Best Airport in Latin America 2008 & 2009" by BusinessWeek and the second best in 2011.
• Because of José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at José Joaquín de Olmedo 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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 DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• 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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• 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.