Nonstop flight route between Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rottnest Airport (RTS), Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,397 miles (or 16,733 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 Rottnest Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Rottnest Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Rottnest Airport (RTS):

• Rottnest Airport (RTS) currently has only 1 runway.
• MacRobertson Miller Airlines took over services after Wood's Airways using both DC-3 and Fokker F27 Friendship, until the route became uneconomical.
• The closest airport to Rottnest Airport (RTS) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ESE of RTS.
• The airport opened in November 1930 and has been used regularly since then for private and small commercial operations, ferrying workers and holiday makers between Perth and the island.
• On 12 November 2006 a light twin engine charter aircraft carrying the pilot and five passengers crashed on the edge of the salt lake adjoining the airport.
• Because of Rottnest Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Rottnest 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 Rottnest Airport (RTS) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Rottnest Airport (meaning Rottnest Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.