Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ratnagiri, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ratnagiri Airport (RTC), Ratnagiri, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,911 miles (or 12,732 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 Ratnagiri 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 Ratnagiri 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):

• 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ratnagiri Airport (RTC):

• In addition to being known as "Ratnagiri Airport", another name for RTC is "रत्नागिरी विमानतळ".
• The airport was built in 1973 by the Public Works Department, Government of India.
• The furthest airport from Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,714 miles (18,851 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ratnagiri Airport's relatively low elevation of 305 feet, planes can take off or land at Ratnagiri 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 Indian Coast Guard have taken over the airstrip at Ratnagiri and will develop it into its first full-fledged air station in Maharashtra.
• The closest airport to Ratnagiri Airport (RTC) is Kolhapur Airport (KLH), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ESE of RTC.