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):

• At the end of the war, the airport, then owned by the United States military, was turned over to the Sulu provincial government.
• Jolo Airport was constructed in the 1940s during World War II as a staging point for American fighter aircraft.
• On December 14, 2009, then former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and ex-US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A.
• Jolo Airport (JOL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Jolo Airport", another name for JOL is "Paliparan ng Jolo".
• 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.
• Jolo Airport handled 18,749 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Jolo Airport (JOL) is Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) NE of JOL.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• 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.
• 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 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.