Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Port Stanley Airport (PSY), Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,272 miles (or 11,703 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 Port Stanley 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 Port Stanley 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 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.

Facts about Port Stanley Airport (PSY):

• Because of Port Stanley Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Stanley 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.
• The Royal Air Force also used the airport for flights to supply and reinforce the British military garrison when necessary.
• The closest airport to Port Stanley Airport (PSY) is RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) WSW of PSY.
• Prior to 1972, there was no airport in the Falkland Islands with a paved runway, and all trips to the islands had to be undertaken by boat.
• The furthest airport from Port Stanley Airport (PSY) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to Port Stanley Airport (meaning Port Stanley Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,351 miles (19,877 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• After the war, the Royal Air Force took over the airport, renaming it RAF Stanley.
• In 1973, the United Kingdom signed a Communications Agreement with Argentina to fund an airstrip on the islands.
• Port Stanley Airport (PSY) has 2 runways.
• Port Stanley Airport is a STOLport in the Falkland Islands, two miles outside the capital, Stanley.