Nonstop flight route between Amiens, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (QAM), Amiens, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,171 miles (or 6,712 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 Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome 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 Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome 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 Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (QAM):

• Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (QAM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (QAM) is Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NW of QAM.
• The airfield was then used by the Americans as a troop carrier and transport airfield flying C-47 Skytrain aircraft.
• Because of Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 208 feet, planes can take off or land at Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome 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.
• In addition to being known as "Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome", other names for QAM include "Aérodrome d'Amiens - Glisy" and "(former Advanced Landing Ground B-48)".
• The furthest airport from Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (QAM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome (meaning Amiens - Glisy Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,014 miles (19,335 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.