Nonstop flight route between Orange City, Iowa, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC), Orange City, Iowa, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 350 miles (or 562 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 relatively short distance between Orange City Municipal Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC):

• The furthest airport from Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,651 miles (17,141 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) is Le Mars Municipal Airport (LRJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSW of ORC.
• Orange City Municipal Airport (ORC) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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 Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".