Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,190 miles (or 6,743 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 Ponta Pelada 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 Ponta Pelada 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.
• 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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL):

• Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL) is Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes–Manaus International Airport (MAO), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of PLL.
• Because of Ponta Pelada Airport's relatively low elevation of 267 feet, planes can take off or land at Ponta Pelada 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 "Ponta Pelada Airport", another name for PLL is "Aeroporto da Ponta Pelada".
• The furthest airport from Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL) is Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT), which is nearly antipodal to Ponta Pelada Airport (meaning Ponta Pelada Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sanga-Sanga Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines.