Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and CFB Cold Lake (YOD), Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 564 miles (or 908 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 relatively short distance between Minot Air Force Base and CFB Cold Lake, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• Following the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81, SAC tasked the former 57th Air Division to organize the Strategic Projection Force.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• The scope of operations grew as the Air Force transferred the 525th Bombardment Squadron from the 19th Bombardment Wing at Homestead AFB, Florida, on 8 March 1961, followed by the first B-52H Stratofortress on 10 July 1961, nicknamed "Peace Persuader".
• The initial USAF host unit was the Air Defense Command 32d Air Base Group, activating on 8 February 1957.
• On 1 February 1963, SAC, as part of a conversion to unit designations with historical significance, activated the 450th Bombardment Wing at Minot and the 720th Bombardment Squadron, along with the formation of the 450th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron, 450th Armament & Electronics Maintenance Squadron, 450th Field Maintenance Squadron, and the 450th Organizational Maintenance Squadron simultaneously.
• Construction of Minot AFB began in May 1956 and it officially opened on 10 January 1957, named for the nearby city of Minot.

Facts about CFB Cold Lake (YOD):

• CFB Cold Lake (YOD) has 3 runways.
• Operations in the 1950s and early 1960s centered around training crews destined for the CF100 Canuck all weather interceptor which was in operational use in both Canada and Europe.
• The furthest airport from CFB Cold Lake (YOD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,097 miles (16,250 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "CFB Cold Lake", another name for YOD is "Cold Lake/Group Captain R.W. McNair Airport".
• The closest airport to CFB Cold Lake (YOD) is Bonnyville Airport (YBY), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of YOD.
• In addition to its value as a training base, CFB Cold Lake's fighter/interceptor aircraft defend the western half of Canadian air space and together with aircraft from CFB Bagotville cover Canada's Arctic territory.