Nonstop flight route between Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Benedito Lacerda Airport (MEA), Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,952 miles (or 9,579 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 Benedito Lacerda 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 Benedito Lacerda 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 Benedito Lacerda Airport (MEA):

• The closest airport to Benedito Lacerda Airport (MEA) is Umberto Modiano Airport (BZC), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) SSW of MEA.
• The airport is located 6 km from downtown Macaé.
• Because of Benedito Lacerda Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Benedito Lacerda 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 furthest airport from Benedito Lacerda Airport (MEA) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Benedito Lacerda Airport (meaning Benedito Lacerda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,179 miles (19,600 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• Benedito Lacerda Airport (MEA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Benedito Lacerda Airport", another name for MEA is "Aeroporto Benedito Lacerda".
• The airport was established in the 1960s as an airfield for general aviation and a Flying club.
• Benedito Lacerda Airport handled 442,983 passengers last year.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• 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.