Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Leribe, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Leribe Airport (LRB), Leribe, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,280 miles (or 14,935 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 Leribe 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 Leribe 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 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 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Leribe Airport (LRB):

• The closest airport to Leribe Airport (LRB) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SW of LRB.
• Leribe Airport (LRB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Leribe Airport (LRB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,824 miles (19,030 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Leribe Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LRB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LRB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.