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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Iejima Airport (IEJ), Iejima, Japan and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,566 miles (or 10,566 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 Iejima 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 Iejima 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 Iejima Airport (IEJ):

• Iejima Airport (IEJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Iejima Airport (IEJ) is Olavo Cecco Rigon Airport (CCI), which is nearly antipodal to Iejima Airport (meaning Iejima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Olavo Cecco Rigon Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Concórdia, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Iejima Airport (IEJ) is Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) S of IEJ.
• In addition to being known as "Iejima Airport", another name for IEJ is "伊江島空港".
• Because of Iejima Airport's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Iejima 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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".
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.