Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Megève, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Megève Aerodrome (MVV), Megève, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,505 miles (or 7,250 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 Megève Aerodrome, 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 Megève Aerodrome. 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 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 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 the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.

Facts about Megève Aerodrome (MVV):

• Megève Aerodrome (MVV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Megève Aerodrome (MVV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Megève Aerodrome (meaning Megève Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,231 miles (19,683 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Megève Aerodrome", another name for MVV is "Altiport de Megève".
• The closest airport to Megève Aerodrome (MVV) is Méribel Airport (MFX), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) S of MVV.
• Because of Megève Aerodrome's high elevation of 4,830 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MVV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MVV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.