Nonstop flight route between Merauke, Papua, Indonesia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mopah Airport (MKQ), Merauke, Papua, Indonesia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,123 miles (or 13,073 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 Mopah 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 Mopah 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 Mopah Airport (MKQ):

• The closest airport to Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Bensbach Airport (BSP), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of MKQ.
• Mopah Airport (MKQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Mopah Airport", another name for MKQ is "Bandara Mopah".
• The furthest airport from Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,634 miles (18,724 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• Because of Mopah Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Mopah 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.