Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ), Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,420 miles (or 10,332 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 Astor Piazzolla International 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 Astor Piazzolla International 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):

• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• 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 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 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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 Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ):

• The existing terminal building was constructed in 1978 for the FIFA World Cup.
• In addition to being known as "Astor Piazzolla International Airport", another name for MDQ is "Aeropuerto Internacional de Mar del Plata "Ástor Piazzolla"".
• Because of Astor Piazzolla International Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Astor Piazzolla 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.
• Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ástor Piazzolla International Airport is located 7 km north of the center of Mar del Plata, a city in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina.
• The closest airport to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Miramar Airport (MJR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of MDQ.
• The furthest airport from Astor Piazzolla International Airport (MDQ) is Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), which is nearly antipodal to Astor Piazzolla International Airport (meaning Astor Piazzolla International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Weihai Dashuibo Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Weihai, Shandong, China.