Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,004 miles (or 6,444 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 London Heathrow 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 London Heathrow 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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

• Heathrow is 14 mi west of central London, near the south end of the London Borough of Hillingdon on a parcel of land that is designated part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.
• With only two runways, operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• Full body scanners are now used at the airport, and passengers who object to their use after being selected are not allowed to fly.
• Heathrow Airport started in 1929 as a small airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
• The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.