Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sand Point, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sand Point Airport (SDP), Sand Point, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,658 miles (or 4,277 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 Sand Point 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 Sand Point 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• 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.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sand Point Airport (SDP):

• The closest airport to Sand Point Airport (SDP) is Port Moller Airport (PML), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of SDP.
• Sand Point Airport is a state owned, public use airport located two nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Sand Point, a city in the Aleutians East Borough in the U.S.
• Because of Sand Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sand Point 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.
• Sand Point Airport (SDP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sand Point Airport (SDP) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,961 miles (17,641 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.