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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Odate-Noshiro Airport (ONJ), Kitaakita, Akita, Japan and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,395 miles (or 8,682 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 Odate-Noshiro 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 Odate-Noshiro 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 Odate-Noshiro Airport (ONJ):

• Because of Odate-Noshiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 276 feet, planes can take off or land at Odate-Noshiro 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 furthest airport from Odate-Noshiro Airport (ONJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,542 miles (18,575 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Odate-Noshiro Airport", other names for ONJ include "大館能代空港" and "Odate-Noshiro Kūkō".
• Odate-Noshiro Airport (ONJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Odate-Noshiro Airport (ONJ) is Akita Airport (AXT), which is located 41 miles (65 kilometers) SSW of ONJ.

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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.