Nonstop flight route between Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mbandaka Airport (MDK), Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,383 miles (or 11,882 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 Mbandaka 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 Mbandaka 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 Mbandaka Airport (MDK):

• The closest airport to Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Impfondo Airport (ION), which is located 110 miles (176 kilometers) N of MDK.
• In addition to being known as "Mbandaka Airport", other names for MDK include "Aéroport de Mbandaka" and "Mbandaka Airport".
• Mbandaka Airport (MDK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mbandaka Airport (MDK) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Mbandaka Airport (meaning Mbandaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,105 miles (19,481 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.