Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Eek, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Eek Airport (EEK), Eek, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,632 miles (or 4,236 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 Eek 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 Eek 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 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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.
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".

Facts about Eek Airport (EEK):

• The closest airport to Eek Airport (EEK) is Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) WNW of EEK.
• Eek Airport (EEK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Eek Airport (EEK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,623 miles (17,096 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Eek Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Eek 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 3,759 passenger boardings in calendar year 2007, an increase of 16% from the 3,241 enplanements in 2006.