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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (CEQ), Cannes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,627 miles (or 7,446 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 Cannes - Mandelieu 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 Cannes - Mandelieu 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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 DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.
• 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 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.

Facts about Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (CEQ):

• Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (CEQ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (CEQ) is Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) ENE of CEQ.
• Because of Cannes - Mandelieu Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Cannes - Mandelieu 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 Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (CEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Cannes - Mandelieu Airport (meaning Cannes - Mandelieu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,265 miles (19,739 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Cannes - Mandelieu Airport", another name for CEQ is "Aéroport de Cannes - MandelieuAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-11".