Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Bluefields, Nicaragua:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Bluefields Airport (BEF), Bluefields, Nicaragua would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,607 miles (or 4,196 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 Bluefields 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 Bluefields 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.

Facts about Bluefields Airport (BEF):

• The closest airport to Bluefields Airport (BEF) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of BEF.
• The furthest airport from Bluefields Airport (BEF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Bluefields Airport (meaning Bluefields Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,394 miles (19,946 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Bluefields Airport's relatively low elevation of 41 feet, planes can take off or land at Bluefields 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.
• Bluefields Airport (BEF) currently has only 1 runway.