Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Owerri, Nigeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW), Owerri, Nigeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,606 miles (or 10,632 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 Sam Mbakwe International Cargo 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 Sam Mbakwe International Cargo 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.
• 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.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• 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.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW):

• Because of Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport's relatively low elevation of 373 feet, planes can take off or land at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo 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.
• Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport", another name for QOW is "Imo Airport".
• The furthest airport from Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (meaning Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,238 miles (19,696 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.
• Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport handled 276,926 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (QOW) is Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa (PHC), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of QOW.