Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Oviedo, Asturias, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Asturias Airport (OVD), Oviedo, Asturias, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,144 miles (or 6,670 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 Asturias 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 Asturias 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):

• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Asturias Airport (OVD):

• The closest airport to Asturias Airport (OVD) is León Airport (LEN), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) SSE of OVD.
• The furthest airport from Asturias Airport (OVD) is Christchurch International Airport (CHC), which is nearly antipodal to Asturias Airport (meaning Asturias Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christchurch International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,899 kilometers) away in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• In 2003, a series of improvements were made to the airport, that would enable it to handle a higher volume of passengers and aircraft traffic.
• In 1980, the airport underwent its first major expansion in preparation for the 1982 football World Cup in Spain.
• In addition to being known as "Asturias Airport", another name for OVD is "Aeropuerto de Asturias".
• Asturias Airport (OVD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Asturias airport is located in the parish of Santiago del Monte, municipality of Castrillón, 15 km from Avilés, 40 km from Gijón and 47 km from the regional capital, Oviedo.
• Because of Asturias Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Asturias 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.