Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Bluefields, Nicaragua:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to BEF:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- BEF Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about BEF
- 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 BEF
- List of Nearest Airports to BEF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEF
- List of Furthest Airports from BEF
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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
|
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: | BEF / MNBL |
Airport Name: | Bluefields Airport |
Location: | Bluefields, Nicaragua |
GPS Coordinates: | 11°59'26"N by 83°46'27"W |
Area Served: | Bluefields |
Operator/Owner: | EAAI |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 41 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BEF |
More Information: | BEF Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
- 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.
- Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- The closest airport to Bluefields Airport (BEF) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of BEF.
- Bluefields Airport (BEF) currently has only 1 runway.