Nonstop flight route between Massawa, Eritrea and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MSW to RDR:
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- About this route
- MSW Airport Information
- RDR Airport Information
- Facts about MSW
- Facts about RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to MSW
- List of Nearest Airports to MSW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MSW
- List of Furthest Airports from MSW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Massawa International Airport (MSW), Massawa, Eritrea and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,296 miles (or 11,742 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 Massawa International 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 Massawa International 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MSW / HHMS |
| Airport Name: | Massawa International Airport |
| Location: | Massawa, Eritrea |
| GPS Coordinates: | 15°40'59"N by 39°22'5"E |
| Area Served: | Massawa |
| Airport Type: | Military/Public |
| Elevation: | 206 feet (63 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MSW |
| More Information: | MSW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
| More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Facts about Massawa International Airport (MSW):
- Massawa International Airport (MSW) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Massawa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 206 feet, planes can take off or land at Massawa International 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 Massawa International Airport is a large establishment.
- The furthest airport from Massawa International Airport (MSW) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Massawa International Airport (meaning Massawa International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,984 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
- The closest airport to Massawa International Airport (MSW) is Asmara International Airport (ASM), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) SW of MSW.
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
- 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 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
- 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.
- 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.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
