Nonstop flight route between Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maupiti Airport (MAU), Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,583 miles (or 8,985 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 Maupiti 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 Maupiti 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 Maupiti Airport (MAU):

• Maupiti Airport (MAU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Maupiti Airport (MAU) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Maupiti Airport (meaning Maupiti Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,631 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
• The closest airport to Maupiti Airport (MAU) is Bora Bora Airport (BOB), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) E of MAU.
• Because of Maupiti Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Maupiti 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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.