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):

• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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):

• Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• Mayor Barrera also stated that this airport will be a remarkable leap in economic development of the city of Quito and that the strategic alliance allows Quiport achieved with the resources generated by the new airport will be for all the people of Quito.
• It opened in February 2013 and replaced the old Mariscal Sucre International Airport.