Nonstop flight route between Cold Bay, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Moller Airport (PML), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,646 miles (or 4,258 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 Port Moller 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 Port Moller 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 Port Moller Airport (PML):

• In addition to being known as "Port Moller Airport", other names for PML include "Port Moller Air Force Station" and "1AK3".
• Port Moller Airport (PML) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Port Moller Airport (PML) is Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) W of PML.
• Port Moller Airport is a publicly owned, private-use airport located 87 nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Cold Bay, in the Aleutians East Borough of the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Port Moller Airport (PML) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,914 miles (17,564 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The airport was built in 1958 to support Port Moller Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station.
• Because of Port Moller Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Moller 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 the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".