Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR), Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,541 miles (or 13,746 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 Sultan Abdul Halim 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 Sultan Abdul Halim 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR):

• Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sultan Abdul Halim Airport handled 535,073 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Sultan Abdul Halim Airport", another name for AOR is "Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Halim".
• The closest airport to Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is Langkawi International Airport (LGK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) WNW of AOR.
• Because of Sultan Abdul Halim Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Abdul Halim 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.
• The furthest airport from Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport (CIX), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (meaning Sultan Abdul Halim Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Chiclayo, Peru.