Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Alpe d'Huez, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ), Alpe d'Huez, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,521 miles (or 7,276 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 Alpe d'Huez 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 Alpe d'Huez 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):

• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of 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.

Facts about Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ):

• The furthest airport from Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Alpe d'Huez Airport (meaning Alpe d'Huez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Méribel Airport (MFX), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) NE of AHZ.
• Because of Alpe d'Huez Airport's high elevation of 6,037 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alpe d'Huez Airport", another name for AHZ is "L'altiport de l'Alpe d'Huez".