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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), Nantes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,152 miles (or 6,682 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 Nantes Atlantique 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 Nantes Atlantique 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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 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 Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE):

• The closest airport to Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) is Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) E of NTE.
• An express shuttle bus, the 'Navette Tan Air', links the a stop outside the airport terminal to Nantes railway station and the city centre.
• Because of Nantes Atlantique Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Nantes Atlantique 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.
• Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Nantes Atlantique Airport (meaning Nantes Atlantique Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Nantes Atlantique is currently the largest airport in the west of France.
• Nantes Atlantique Airport handled 393,084 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Nantes Atlantique Airport", another name for NTE is "Aéroport Nantes Atlantique".
• During World War II the airfield was briefly used as a British Royal Air Force base before being captured by German forces.