Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Durango, Colorado, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RDR to DRO:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- DRO Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about DRO
- 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 DRO
- List of Nearest Airports to DRO
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRO
- List of Furthest Airports from DRO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 912 miles (or 1,468 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
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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: | DRO / KDRO |
Airport Name: | Durango–La Plata County Airport |
Location: | Durango, Colorado, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°9'5"N by 107°45'14"W |
Area Served: | Durango, Colorado |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6685 feet (2,038 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DRO |
More Information: | DRO Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
- 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
- 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.
- Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
- Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
- 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.
Facts about Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO):
- Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of DRO.
- Most flights now are turboprops or regional jets, the exception being Frontier Airlines Airbus A319s nonstop to Denver.American Eagle, flying for American Airlines, has Embraer ERJ-140s and ERJ-145s nonstop to Dallas/Ft.
- Because of Durango–La Plata County Airport's high elevation of 6,685 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DRO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DRO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,121 miles (17,897 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.