Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Tresco Heliport (TSO), Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,863 miles (or 6,217 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 Tresco Heliport, 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 Tresco Heliport. 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.

Facts about Tresco Heliport (TSO):

• Tresco Heliport had a CAA Ordinary Licence that allowed flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• The heliport was officially closed on 31 October 2012 and all flights ceased operations.
• The furthest airport from Tresco Heliport (TSO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Tresco Heliport (meaning Tresco Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Because of Tresco Heliport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tresco Heliport 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.
• Tresco's principal industry is tourism, and the heliport supported this by enabling scheduled helicopter service to and from the mainland.
• Tresco Heliport was a heliport located on the island of Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast of England, UK.
• The closest airport to Tresco Heliport (TSO) is St Mary's Airport (ISC), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SE of TSO.