Nonstop flight route between Lukla, Nepal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,204 miles (or 11,593 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 Tenzing-Hillary 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 Tenzing-Hillary 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 Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA):

• The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
• The apron has four stands and there is one helipad located 140 m from the control tower.
• Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport's paved asphalt runway is only accessible to helicopters and small, fixed-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier Do 228, and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter.
• In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
• Because of Tenzing-Hillary Airport's high elevation of 9,383 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of 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.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.