Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RDR to SWS:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- SWS Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about SWS
- 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 SWS
- List of Nearest Airports to SWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SWS
- List of Furthest Airports from SWS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Swansea Airport (SWS), Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,875 miles (or 6,237 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 Swansea 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 Swansea 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: | SWS / EGFH |
Airport Name: | Swansea Airport |
Location: | Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'19"N by 4°4'4"W |
Operator/Owner: | Swansea Airport Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 299 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SWS |
More Information: | SWS Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- 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 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.
Facts about Swansea Airport (SWS):
- The Welsh Assembly Government is currently conducting studies into improving the facilities at the airport as part of the transport infrastructure development strategy for the whole of Wales.
- The 1990s saw the arrival of Heli-air Wales to the airport, and so began the era of Helicopter Training in South Wales.
- The closest airport to Swansea Airport (SWS) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) ESE of SWS.
- Located on the eastern part of the site is the airport's only terminal building with seats for 25 passengers.
- Swansea Airport was built on what was originally common land during World War II.
- The furthest airport from Swansea Airport (SWS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Swansea Airport (SWS) has 2 runways.
- Because of Swansea Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Swansea 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.