Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Hanzhong, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (HZG), Hanzhong, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,638 miles (or 10,683 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 Hanzhong Xiguan 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 Hanzhong Xiguan 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.

Facts about Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (HZG):

• In addition to being known as "Hanzhong Xiguan Airport", other names for HZG include "汉中西关机场" and "Hànzhōng Xiguān Jīchǎng".
• Hanzhong Xiguan Airport is an airport serving the city of Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province, China.
• The furthest airport from Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (HZG) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (meaning Hanzhong Xiguan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,349 miles (19,873 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• During World War II, the airport was known as Hanchung Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign.
• The closest airport to Hanzhong Xiguan Airport (HZG) is Guangyuan Airport (GYS), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) WSW of HZG.