Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Denver, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 666 miles (or 1,071 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 Denver International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.

Facts about Denver International Airport (DEN):

• The automated baggage system never worked as designed, and in August 2005 it became public knowledge that United would abandon the system, a decision that would save them $1 million per month in maintenance costs.
• The system's $186 million original construction costs grew by $1 million per day during months of modifications and repairs.
• The closest airport to Denver International Airport (DEN) is Centennial Airport (APA), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSW of DEN.
• Jeppesen Terminal's internationally recognized peaked roof, designed by Fentress Bradburn Architects, is reflective of snow-capped mountains and evokes the early history of Colorado when Native American teepees were located across the Great Plains.
• The furthest airport from Denver International Airport (DEN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,877 miles (17,505 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Another blizzard on December 20 and 21, 2006 dumped over 20 inches of snow in about 24 hours.
• Because of Denver International Airport's high elevation of 5,431 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DEN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DEN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Denver International Airport (DEN) has 6 runways.
• In April 1994, the city invited reporters to observe the first test of the new automated baggage system.
• Once fully built out, DIA should be able to handle 110 million passengers per year, up from 32 million at its opening.
• Denver International Airport handled 52,556,359 passengers last year.