Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Faro, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,360 miles (or 7,017 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 Faro International 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 Faro International 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):

• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.

Facts about Faro International Airport (FAO):

• Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro International 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.
• Faro Airport is located 4 km to the west of Faro, Portugal.
• More than ten car rental firms service the airport.
• A total of 5.6 million passengers used Faro airport in 2011.
• The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.
• The furthest airport from Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".
• Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.
• Since its opening in 1966 Faro airport has had two major developments, the new passenger terminal building in 1989 and its enlargement in 2001.