Nonstop flight route between Nagasaki, Japan and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nagasaki Airport (NGS), Nagasaki, Japan and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,129 miles (or 9,864 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 Nagasaki 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 Nagasaki 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 Nagasaki Airport (NGS):

• The furthest airport from Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Nagasaki Airport (meaning Nagasaki Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,303 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Nagasaki Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Nagasaki 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 closest airport to Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NE of NGS.
• In addition to being known as "Nagasaki Airport", other names for NGS include "長崎空港" and "Nagasaki Kūkō".
• Nagasaki Airport (NGS) has 2 runways.
• Several companies provide scheduled bus service to the airport from Nagasaki, Shimabara, Sasebo, and other surrounding cities.
• The mainland portion of the airport opened as a military aerodrome in 1923, and commenced civilian joint use as Omura Airport in 1955.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.