Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Anambas Islands, Riau Province, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Matak Airport (MWK), Anambas Islands, Riau Province, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,614 miles (or 13,863 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 Matak 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 Matak 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):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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 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.

Facts about Matak Airport (MWK):

• Matak Airport (MWK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Matak Airport (MWK) is Crnl. FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport (IQT), which is nearly antipodal to Matak Airport (meaning Matak Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Crnl. FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport), and is located 12,394 miles (19,947 kilometers) away in Iquitos, Loreto, Peru.
• Because of Matak Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Matak 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.
• In addition to being known as "Matak Airport", another name for MWK is "Bandar Udara Matak".
• The closest airport to Matak Airport (MWK) is Tioman Airport (TOD), which is located 149 miles (240 kilometers) WSW of MWK.