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):

• The Mount Gambier Aero Club Inc.
• Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) has 3 runways.
• 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 handled 92,261 passengers last year.
• In July 1939 the Federal Government purchased the aerodrome from its civilian owners and commenced the construction of a Royal Australian Air Force base which was to house the No.
• The closest airport to Mount Gambier Airport (MGB) is Portland Airport (PTJ), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) SE of MGB.
• O'Connor Airlines, which ceased operations 14 December 2007, was formerly based at the airport.
• 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.