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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN), Avignon, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,536 miles (or 7,300 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 Avignon - Caumont 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 Avignon - Caumont 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):

• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.

Facts about Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN):

• Because of Avignon - Caumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 124 feet, planes can take off or land at Avignon - Caumont 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.
• In addition to being known as "Avignon - Caumont Airport", another name for AVN is "Aéroport d'Avignon - Caumont".
• Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN) is Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) N of AVN.
• The furthest airport from Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Avignon - Caumont Airport (meaning Avignon - Caumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,369 miles (19,906 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.