Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Sabah, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to SMM:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- SMM Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about SMM
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMM
- List of Nearest Airports to SMM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMM
- List of Furthest Airports from SMM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Semporna Airport (SMM), Sabah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,212 miles (or 13,215 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 Semporna 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 Semporna Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
| More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMM / WBKA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Sabah, Malaysia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 4°26'58"N by 118°35'47"E |
| Area Served: | Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia |
| Operator/Owner: | Malaysia Airports Berhad |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 60 feet (18 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMM |
| More Information: | SMM Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- 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.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Semporna Airport (SMM):
- Semporna Airport (SMM) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Semporna Airport", another name for SMM is "Lapangan Terbang Semporna".
- The furthest airport from Semporna Airport (SMM) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Semporna Airport (meaning Semporna Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,316 miles (19,820 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Semporna Airport (SMM) is Tawau Airport (TWU), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) WSW of SMM.
- Because of Semporna Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Semporna 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.
