Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yiwu, Zhejiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yiwu Airport (YIW), Yiwu, Zhejiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,613 miles (or 10,643 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 Yiwu 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 Yiwu 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):

• 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 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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 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.

Facts about Yiwu Airport (YIW):

• The closest airport to Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of YIW.
• Yiwu Airport (YIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 6 January 2012, construction commenced for a new international terminal.
• Yiwu Airport handled 761,938 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Yiwu Airport (YIW) is Reconquista Airport (RCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yiwu Airport (meaning Yiwu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Reconquista Airport), and is located 12,417 miles (19,983 kilometers) away in Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yiwu Airport", other names for YIW include "义乌机场" and "Yìwū Jīchǎng".
• Yiwu Airport has one runway that is 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide, and an 18,000 square-meter terminal building.