Nonstop flight route between Qiemo, Xinjiang, China and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qiemo Airport (IQM), Qiemo, Xinjiang, China and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,484 miles (or 10,436 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 Qiemo 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 Qiemo 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 Qiemo Airport (IQM):

• The furthest airport from Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Pupelde Airfield (ZUD), which is located 11,316 miles (18,211 kilometers) away in Ancud, Los Lagos Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Qiemo Airport", other names for IQM include "且末机场" and "Qiěmò Jīchǎng".
• Because of Qiemo Airport's high elevation of 4,108 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IQM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IQM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Korla Airport (KRL), which is located 242 miles (389 kilometers) N of IQM.
• Qiemo Airport (IQM) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".