Nonstop flight route between Mount Gambier, Australia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mount Gambier Airport (MGB), Mount Gambier, Australia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,480 miles (or 15,256 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 Mount Gambier 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 Mount Gambier 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 Mount Gambier Airport (MGB):

• Mount Gambier Airport is an airport in the Limestone Coast, South Australia.
• Because of Mount Gambier Airport's relatively low elevation of 212 feet, planes can take off or land at Mount Gambier 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.
• Mount Gambier Airport was ranked 45th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Mount Gambier Airport handled 92,261 passengers last year.
• In 2011 it was announced that Mount Gambier Airport would be upgraded under a $3.4 million program.
• O'Connor Airlines, which ceased operations 14 December 2007, was formerly based at the airport.
• Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,985 miles (19,288 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) is Portland Airport (PTJ), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) SE of MGB.

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.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• 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.
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.