Nonstop flight route between Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN), Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,517 miles (or 10,489 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN):

• At the end of the day the runway length was held to 8,200 which is too short for fully laden 747's to take off safely although it could be extended at sometime in the future if this was ever required.
• The furthest airport from Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Monte Caseros Airport (MCS), which is nearly antipodal to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (meaning Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Monte Caseros Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Monte Caseros, Corrientes, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) W of HSN.
• Across the entire site which was about 3,200m x 400m, a matrix of 150mm perforated iron pipes at 10m centers in both directions was installed vertically, in a manner that allowed the Chinese to pour water and sand down the pipes to help with the compacting.
• In addition to being known as "Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport", other names for HSN include "舟山普陀山机场" and "Zhōushān Pǔtuóshān Jīchǎng".
• The runway was originally designed to be long enough to land 747s, which require around 10,000' length for take-off by 130' width.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.