Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and McGrath, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and McGrath Airport (MCG), McGrath, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,399 miles (or 3,861 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 McGrath 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):

• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• 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 McGrath Airport (MCG):

• McGrath Airport (MCG) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McGrath Airport", another name for MCG is "(formerly McGrath Army Airbase)".
• The furthest airport from McGrath Airport (MCG) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,435 miles (16,793 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport had 5,278 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 4,893 in 2009, and 5,242 in 2010.
• The closest airport to McGrath Airport (MCG) is Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WSW of MCG.
• McGrath Airport is a state-owned public-use airport serving McGrath, a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S.
• Because of McGrath Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at McGrath 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.