Nonstop flight route between Midland/Bay City/Saginaw, Michigan, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MBS International Airport (MBS), Midland/Bay City/Saginaw, Michigan, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 710 miles (or 1,143 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 relatively short distance between MBS International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MBS International Airport (MBS):

• MBS International Airport (MBS) has 2 runways.
• Delta Air Lines merged with Northwest Airlines.
• Until October 1, 2009, Mesaba Airlines ran ground services for Delta Connection.
• MBS International Airport is located in Freeland, Michigan, serving the nearby cities of Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw.
• The closest airport to MBS International Airport (MBS) is Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (MOP), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of MBS.
• The furthest airport from MBS International Airport (MBS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,213 miles (18,046 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of MBS International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at MBS International 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 commercial airport is a special municipal body owned by Bay County and the cities of Midland and Saginaw.
• Compass Airlines, Comair, and Mesaba Airlines ground handling merged into one service called Regional Elite Airline Services.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.