Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 720 miles (or 1,159 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 relatively short distance between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS):

• United Airlines DC-3s landed at Rock Springs until 1952.
• Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,864 miles (17,484 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Kemmerer Municipal Airport (EMM), which is located 79 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of RKS.
• Because of Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport's high elevation of 6,765 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.