Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ), Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,255 miles (or 8,458 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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 Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho 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):

• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.

Facts about Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ):

• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Petrolina Airport handles the exportation of fresh fruits from the São Francisco valley to Europe and the US.
• In addition to being known as "Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport", another name for PNZ is "Aeroporto de Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho".
• The airport is located 9 km from downtown Petrolina and 15 km from downtown Juazeiro.
• Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport handled 473,482 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Barra Airport (BQQ), which is located 209 miles (337 kilometers) SW of PNZ.
• The furthest airport from Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (PNZ) is Falalop Airfield (ULI), which is nearly antipodal to Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport (meaning Petrolina–Senador Nilo Coelho Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Falalop Airfield), and is located 12,385 miles (19,931 kilometers) away in Falalop Island, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.