Nonstop flight route between Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT), Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,139 miles (or 13,099 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 Sanga-Sanga 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 Sanga-Sanga 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 Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT):

• In addition to being known as "Sanga-Sanga Airport", another name for TWT is "Paliparan ng Sanga-Sanga".
• Sanga-Sanga Airport, also known as Tawi-Tawi Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Bongao, the capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines.
• Because of Sanga-Sanga Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanga-Sanga 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.
• Sanga-Sanga Airport handled 8,663 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT) is Semporna Airport (SMM), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) WSW of TWT.
• Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sanga-Sanga Airport (TWT) is Ponta Pelada Airport (PLL), which is nearly antipodal to Sanga-Sanga Airport (meaning Sanga-Sanga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ponta Pelada Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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 May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• 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.
• 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 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.