Nonstop flight route between Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Swansea Airport (SWS), Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,875 miles (or 6,237 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 Swansea 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 Swansea 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 Swansea Airport (SWS):

• The 1990s saw the arrival of Heli-air Wales to the airport, and so began the era of Helicopter Training in South Wales.
• Swansea Airport (SWS) has 2 runways.
• Because of Swansea Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Swansea 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 Welsh Assembly Government is currently conducting studies into improving the facilities at the airport as part of the transport infrastructure development strategy for the whole of Wales.
• Located on the eastern part of the site is the airport's only terminal building with seats for 25 passengers.
• The closest airport to Swansea Airport (SWS) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) ESE of SWS.
• The furthest airport from Swansea Airport (SWS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.