Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Lansing, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Capital Region International Airport (LAN), Lansing, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 716 miles (or 1,153 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 relatively short distance between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Capital Region International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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 Capital Region International Airport (LAN):

• The furthest airport from Capital Region International Airport (LAN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,212 miles (18,044 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Capital Region International Airport (LAN) has 3 runways.
• In December 2011 the airport, city of Lansing, and DeWitt Township received Next Michigan Development Corporation – or Aerotropolis – designation, designed to encourage economic development within 1 mile of the airport.
• In January 2008 Capital Region International Airport was designated as an International Port of Entry into the United States, with Customs and Border Protection officers on duty to process international passengers and air freight.
• Because of Capital Region International Airport's relatively low elevation of 861 feet, planes can take off or land at Capital Region 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.
• During World War II Francis Aviation and Hughes Flying Service provided ground and flight training to 300 pilots per month as part of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Capital Region International Airport (LAN) is Jackson County Airport (JXN), which is located 36 miles (59 kilometers) S of LAN.
• In 1980 a 5,300 square feet airport fire station was built.