Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Aix-en-Provence / Les Milles, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB), Aix-en-Provence / Les Milles, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,572 miles (or 7,358 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 Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome, 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 Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome. 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):

• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• 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 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 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.
• In May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.

Facts about Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB):

• Because of Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 368 feet, planes can take off or land at Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome 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 closest airport to Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of QXB.
• Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (QXB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome (meaning Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,343 miles (19,864 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Aix-en-Provence Aerodrome", other names for QXB include "'Aérodrome d'Aix-en-Provence(Advanced Landing Ground Y-15)" and "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-15)".