Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX), Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,727 miles (or 4,389 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega 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 Benjamín Rivera Noriega 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX):

• Because of Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Benjamín Rivera Noriega 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 airport of Culebra was originally built as a military airport by the United States Marine Corps, opening in 1957.
• The furthest airport from Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (meaning Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,254 miles (19,722 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport", another name for CPX is "Aeropuerto Benjamín Rivera Noriega".
• The airport is noted for the mountain at the approach end of the runway to the North.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport handled 75,964 passengers last year.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport is a public use airport located on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico.
• The closest airport to Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) is Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SW of CPX.