Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Kempsey Airport (KPS), Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,658 miles (or 13,933 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 Kempsey 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 Kempsey 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):

• 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.
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• 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 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.

Facts about Kempsey Airport (KPS):

• Kempsey Airport (KPS) has 2 runways.
• Because of Kempsey Airport's relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Kempsey 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.
• The furthest airport from Kempsey Airport (KPS) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Kempsey Airport (meaning Kempsey Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,013 miles (19,332 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Kempsey Airport (KPS) is Port Macquarie Airport (PQQ), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) SSE of KPS.