Nonstop flight route between Jolo, Sulu, Philippines and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jolo Airport (JOL), Jolo, Sulu, Philippines and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,037 miles (or 12,935 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 Jolo 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 Jolo 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 Jolo Airport (JOL):

• Because of Jolo Airport's relatively low elevation of 118 feet, planes can take off or land at Jolo 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.
• Jolo Airport handled 18,749 passengers last year.
• At the end of the war, the airport, then owned by the United States military, was turned over to the Sulu provincial government.
• In August 2008, a Manila-based construction company, CS Santiago Construction, won the bidding for the airport's expansion.
• The closest airport to Jolo Airport (JOL) is Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) NE of JOL.
• In addition to being known as "Jolo Airport", another name for JOL is "Paliparan ng Jolo".
• Jolo Airport (JOL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Jolo Airport (JOL) is Maués Airport (MBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Jolo Airport (meaning Jolo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maués Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,683 kilometers) away in Maués, Amazonas, Brazil.
• A three million-dollar expansion project, financed by the United States, seeks to rehabilitate the old airport by expanding the current runway to over 2,000 meters, enabling aircraft as large as the Boeing 737 to land at the airport.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• 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 the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.