Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ihu, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ihu Airport (IHU), Ihu, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,870 miles (or 12,666 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 Ihu 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 Ihu 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".

Facts about Ihu Airport (IHU):

• In addition to being known as "Ihu Airport", another name for IHU is "AYIH".
• Because of Ihu Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Ihu 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.
• Ihu Airport (IHU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ihu Airport (IHU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,611 miles (18,686 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Ihu Airport (IHU) is Kerema Airport (KMA), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) E of IHU.