Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Launceston, Tasmania, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Launceston Airport (LST), Launceston, Tasmania, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,329 miles (or 15,014 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 Launceston 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 Launceston 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.
• 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.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".

Facts about Launceston Airport (LST):

• The closest airport to Launceston Airport (LST) is George Town Aerodrome (GEE), which is located 38 miles (60 kilometers) NNW of LST.
• Virgin Australia currently has up to four daily flights from Melbourne and one from Sydney.
• Launceston Airport (LST) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Launceston Airport (LST) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to Launceston Airport (meaning Launceston Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,280 miles (19,763 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Launceston Airport's relatively low elevation of 562 feet, planes can take off or land at Launceston 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.
• After the formation of the Tasmanian Aero Club in 1927, the first air travel facility in Tasmania was built on the site.
• On 29 May 2003, Qantas Flight 1737 – en route from Melbourne Airport – was hijacked shortly after takeoff.