Nonstop flight route between St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St Mary's Airport (ISC), St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,866 miles (or 6,222 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 St Mary's 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 St Mary's 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 St Mary's Airport (ISC):

• After being in operation for 48 years, the helicopter service between St Mary's and the mainland UK ceased operations in October 2012, leaving Skybus as the sole remaining air link for the Isles of Scilly.
• The furthest airport from St Mary's Airport (ISC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to St Mary's Airport (meaning St Mary's Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,501 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• St Mary's Airport handled 89,170 passengers last year.
• The current 600m asphalt runway, 15/33, was built in 1991.
• St Mary's Airport (ISC) has 2 runways.
• On 2 May 1964, BEA replaced its Dragon Rapides on the Land's End route with a single Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, operated by BEA Helicopters.
• The closest airport to St Mary's Airport (ISC) is Tresco Heliport (TSO), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NW of ISC.
• Because of St Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at St Mary's 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.
• On 15 September 1937, Olley Air Service's subsidiary Channel Air Ferries started the first scheduled service between Land's End and St Mary's, flying de Havilland Dragons.
• In addition to being known as "St Mary's Airport", other names for ISC include "Isles of Scilly Airport" and "Scilly Isles/St Mary's Airport".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.