Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ampara, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ampara Airport (ADP), Ampara, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,616 miles (or 13,865 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Ampara Airport, 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Ampara Airport. 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.

Facts about Ampara Airport (ADP):

• In addition to being known as "Ampara Airport", another name for ADP is "අම්පාර ගුවන්තොටුපළஅம்பாறை விமான நிலையம்".
• The furthest airport from Ampara Airport (ADP) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,703 miles (18,834 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The closest airport to Ampara Airport (ADP) is Batticaloa Airport (BTC), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of ADP.
• Ampara Airport (ADP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ampara Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Ampara 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.