Nonstop flight route between Simikot, Nepal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Simikot Airport (IMK), Simikot, Nepal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,052 miles (or 11,349 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 Simikot 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 Simikot 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 Simikot Airport (IMK):

• Pilgrims and Trekkers bound for Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash in China's Tibet Autonomous Region fly into Simikot and proceed to the international border at Hilsa on foot or by helicopter.
• The closest airport to Simikot Airport (IMK) is Bajura Airport (BJU), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of IMK.
• Because of Simikot Airport's high elevation of 9,246 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IMK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IMK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Simikot Airport (IMK) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
• 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.