Nonstop flight route between Vatry, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR), Vatry, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,282 miles (or 6,892 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 Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR):

• Châlons Vatry Airport's origins began in 1950 when, with the Cold War, NATO faced several problems when attempting to solve the air power survival equation.
• Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Châlons Vatry Airport's relatively low elevation of 586 feet, planes can take off or land at Châlons Vatry 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 Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Châlons Vatry Airport (meaning Châlons Vatry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,092 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Châlons Vatry Airport (XCR) is Troyes - Barberey Airport (QYR), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SSW of XCR.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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".
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.