Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Marcoola, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), Marcoola, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,442 miles (or 13,585 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 Sunshine-Coast-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 Sunshine-Coast-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):

• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.

Facts about Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY):

• The closest airport to Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of MCY.
• Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) has 2 runways.
• The terminal is modern and of high-quality for a regional airport.
• The airport handles aircraftmovements of around 87,000 per annum, has a capacity of 900,000 passengermovements per annum.
• The Queensland Government granted a parcel of land to the Maroochy Shire Council in 1958 for use as a general aviation airstrip.
• Because of Sunshine-Coast-Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunshine-Coast-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 airport master plan proposes building a new 2,450 m Runway 13/31 some time before 2020.
• The furthest airport from Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,859 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.