Nonstop flight route between Mönchengladbach, Germany and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), Mönchengladbach, Germany and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,244 miles (or 6,830 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL):

• Because of Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,161 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The British Army of the Rhine undertook an exercise in 1955, in accord with the then NATO-Strategy of quick reaction.
• From 1996 until 2002 the Belgian airline VLM operated direct services to London City Airport with Fokker 50 aeroplanes providing up to 24 weekly flights in each direction.
• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MGL.
• Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport", another name for MGL is "Verkehrslandeplatz Mönchengladbach".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• 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.