Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yantai, Shandong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT), Yantai, Shandong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,074 miles (or 9,776 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 Yantai Laishan 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 Yantai Laishan 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):

• 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.
• 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 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 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 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.

Facts about Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT):

• Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) is Weihai Dashuibo Airport (WEH), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) ESE of YNT.
• In addition to being known as "Yantai Laishan International Airport", other names for YNT include "烟台莱山国际机场" and "Yāntái Láishān Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Because of Yantai Laishan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Yantai Laishan International 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.
• The furthest airport from Yantai Laishan International Airport (YNT) is Tandil Airport (TDL), which is nearly antipodal to Yantai Laishan International Airport (meaning Yantai Laishan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tandil Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Tandil, Argentina.