Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Quito, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), Quito, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,513 miles (or 5,653 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 Mariscal Sucre International 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 Mariscal Sucre International 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):

• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".

Facts about Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO):

• The new Quito International Airport is located on the Oyambaro plain near the town of Tababela, about 18 kilometers east of Quito, Ecuador.
• The official inauguration was postponed from October, 2012, citing the progress of improvements to various access routes, the holiday season, and other factors.
• The furthest airport from Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (PKU), which is nearly antipodal to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (meaning Mariscal Sucre International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,971 kilometers) away in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) is Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) SSW of UIO.
• In addition to being known as "Mariscal Sucre International Airport", another name for UIO is "Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre".
• Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mariscal Sucre International Airport's high elevation of 7,874 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at UIO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make UIO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.