Nonstop flight route between Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,201 miles (or 1,932 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 relatively short distance between Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA):

• An FAA operated air traffic control tower was operational at the airport but closed in 1981 during the PATCO controllers strike.
• The furthest airport from Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,463 miles (18,449 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 801 feet, planes can take off or land at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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.
• Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• During World War II the airport was a training facility for the United States Army Air Corp and a refueling stop for naval aviators.
• The airport is home to the Spartanburg Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and to the Spartanburg Pilot's Association
• The closest airport to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of SPA.

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 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.
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of 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".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.