Nonstop flight route between McKinley Park, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McKinley National Park Airport (MCL), McKinley Park, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,193 miles (or 3,529 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 McKinley National Park 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 McKinley National Park Airport (MCL):

• In addition to being known as "McKinley National Park Airport", another name for MCL is "INR".
• The closest airport to McKinley National Park Airport (MCL) is Summit Airport (UMM), which is located 29 miles (46 kilometers) SSW of MCL.
• McKinley National Park Airport (MCL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from McKinley National Park Airport (MCL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,368 miles (16,686 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.