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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Horta International Airport (HOR), Horta, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,402 miles (or 5,474 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 Horta 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 Horta 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 Horta International Airport (HOR):

• Following the 2001 renovation, the airport was designated an international airport.
• In addition to being known as "Horta International Airport", another name for HOR is "Aeroporto Internacional da Horta".
• The airport at Horta was inaugurated on August 24, 1971 by then President Almirante Américo Tomás.
• The furthest airport from Horta International Airport (HOR) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Horta International Airport (meaning Horta International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• Horta International Airport (HOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Horta International Airport (HOR) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) E of HOR.
• Horta International Airport handled 191,969 passengers last year.
• Because of Horta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 118 feet, planes can take off or land at Horta 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.