Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Melbourne, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,640 miles (or 2,639 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 Melbourne International 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):

• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.

Facts about Melbourne International Airport (MLB):

• Melbourne International Airport (MLB) has 3 runways.
• In the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the Airport.
• The Airport Museum is in the terminal building.
• The closest airport to Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Patrick Air Force Base (COF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of MLB.
• Returned to the city as a Surplus Property Airport after the War, Melbourne Airport was deeded to the city in 1947.
• Because of Melbourne International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,549 miles (18,586 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Authority operated a recreational vehicle site, "Port O' Call." This was closed and the tenants evicted in 2003.