Nonstop flight route between Lelystad, Netherlands and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lelystad Airport (LEY), Lelystad, Netherlands and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,256 miles (or 6,850 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 Lelystad Airport and Minot 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 Lelystad Airport and Minot 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 Lelystad Airport (LEY):

• As Lelystad is the biggest General Aviation airfield in the Netherlands, AOPA is concerned that commercial aviation will have a negative impact on the General Aviation users, and has proposed the construction of a new parallel runway south of the airport to improve traffic flow.
• At first Lelystad had grass taxi- and runways, but it was found that the clay could not support all the traffic, and tracks started to form.
• Lelystad Airport (LEY) has 2 runways.
• Because of Lelystad Airport's relatively low elevation of -12 feet, planes can take off or land at Lelystad 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.
• Because of the museum, various aviation events are frequently held at the airport.
• In 1966 it was decided that the newly created Flevopolder required one central airport.
• The furthest airport from Lelystad Airport (LEY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,832 miles (19,042 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1993 the Schiphol Group became the owner of the airport.
• The closest airport to Lelystad Airport (LEY) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of LEY.

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• The 91st Maintenance Group is the maintenance backbone of the 91st Missile Wing, originally activated as the 91st Maintenance and Supply Group on 10 November 1948.
• The 91st Operations Group is the operational backbone of the 91st Missile Wing, with its mission to defend the United States with safe and secure Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles – ready to immediately put bombs on target.
• A Semi Automatic Ground Environment facility was built and activated in June 1961.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the early 1990s, the base prepared for change as the Air Force directed reorganization, and the 5th Bomb Wing assumed host base responsibilities.
• The 4th Post Attack Command & Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, SD maintained several EC-135 "Looking Glass" Aircraft on an alert at MAFB for coverage of the missile squadrons as a secondary Launch Control Center.
• In 1961, the Air Force selected the land around Minot for a new Minuteman I ICBM complex.