Nonstop flight route between Mbeya, Tanzania and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mbeya Airport (MBI), Mbeya, Tanzania and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,514 miles (or 13,702 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 Mbeya 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 Mbeya 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 Mbeya Airport (MBI):

• The closest airport to Mbeya Airport (MBI) is Karonga Airport (KGJ), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) SSE of MBI.
• In addition to being known as "Mbeya Airport", another name for MBI is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Mbeya  (Swahili)".
• The furthest airport from Mbeya Airport (MBI) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,553 miles (18,592 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Mbeya Airport (MBI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mbeya Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

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 DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.