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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport", another name for GYE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo".
• The original project in 2003–2004 contemplated the construction of a 28,000 m2 international terminal and the continuing operation of the old terminal, which would be left to handle only domestic flights.
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.