Nonstop flight route between Windhoek, Namibia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), Windhoek, Namibia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,496 miles (or 13,674 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 Hosea Kutako International 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 Hosea Kutako International 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 Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH):

• Because of Hosea Kutako International Airport's high elevation of 5,640 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WDH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WDH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport underwent a modernising makeover in 2009.
• Hosea Kutako International Airport handled 681,317 passengers last year.
• Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) is Eros Airport (ERS), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WSW of WDH.
• The furthest airport from Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Hosea Kutako International Airport (meaning Hosea Kutako International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.

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 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.