Nonstop flight route between Saga, Kyūshū, Japan and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saga Airport (HSG), Saga, Kyūshū, Japan and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,104 miles (or 9,824 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 Saga 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 Saga 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 Saga Airport (HSG):

• The governor of Saga Prefecture announced the construction of Saga Airport in January 1969, and after years of studies and negotiations, construction commenced in 1997.
• The closest airport to Saga Airport (HSG) is Nagasaki Airport (NGS), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SW of HSG.
• Saga Airport is an airport in the Kawasoe area of Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan.
• Due to the slump in mainline service to the airport, Saga Prefecture began several programs aimed at promoting usage of the airport, including ground transportation subsidies for local companies that used the airport for business travel.
• ANA currently operates a 767 freighter on an overnight Kansai-Haneda-Saga-Kansai route on weeknights only.
• Saga Airport (HSG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Saga Airport (HSG) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Saga Airport (meaning Saga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,275 miles (19,755 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Saga Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Saga 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 "Saga Airport", other names for HSG include "佐賀空港" and "Saga-kūkō".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.