Nonstop flight route between Maitland, New South Wales, Australia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maitland Airport (MTL), Maitland, New South Wales, Australia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,787 miles (or 14,141 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 Maitland 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 Maitland 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 Maitland Airport (MTL):

• The closest airport to Maitland Airport (MTL) is Cessnock Airport (CES), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) SW of MTL.
• Action Aerobatics are based at the airport and offer advanced aerobatic flight training, as well as aerobatic joy flights.
• The furthest airport from Maitland Airport (MTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Maitland Airport (meaning Maitland Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,086 miles (19,451 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Maitland Airport", another name for MTL is "Russell Field".
• In 1948, the Rutherford site was chosen by Maitland Aero Club to build an airfield.
• Maitland Airport (MTL) has 3 runways.
• Because of Maitland Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Maitland 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):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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 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.