Nonstop flight route between Piacenza, Italy and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ), Piacenza, Italy and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,655 miles (or 7,492 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ):

• Because of Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base's relatively low elevation of 456 feet, planes can take off or land at Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (meaning Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,122 miles (19,509 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) is Parma Airport (PMF), which is located 29 miles (46 kilometers) ESE of QPZ.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.