Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Wichita, Kansas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to BEC:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- BEC Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about BEC
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEC
- List of Nearest Airports to BEC
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEC
- List of Furthest Airports from BEC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Beech Factory Airport (BEC), Wichita, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 709 miles (or 1,142 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 relatively short distance between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Beech Factory Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
| More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEC / KBEC |
| Airport Name: | Beech Factory Airport |
| Location: | Wichita, Kansas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°41'39"N by 97°12'54"W |
| Area Served: | Wichita, Kansas |
| Operator/Owner: | Beechcraft |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1408 feet (429 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BEC |
| More Information: | BEC Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
- On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
- 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.
- 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".
- The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
Facts about Beech Factory Airport (BEC):
- The closest airport to Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) SSW of BEC.
- Beech Factory Airport (BEC) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport was founded in 1928 as part of a 148 acre land tract purchased from the city to house the Knoll Aircraft Company.
- The furthest airport from Beech Factory Airport (BEC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,735 miles (17,276 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
