Nonstop flight route between Saint-Louis, Senegal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saint-Louis Airport (XLS), Saint-Louis, Senegal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,984 miles (or 8,022 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 Saint-Louis 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 Saint-Louis 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 Saint-Louis Airport (XLS):

• The closest airport to Saint-Louis Airport (XLS) is Richard Toll Airport (RDT), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) ENE of XLS.
• Saint-Louis Airport (XLS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Saint-Louis Airport (XLS) is Santo-Pekoa International Airport (SON), which is nearly antipodal to Saint-Louis Airport (meaning Saint-Louis Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santo-Pekoa International Airport), and is located 12,189 miles (19,616 kilometers) away in Luganville, Vanuatu.
• Because of Saint-Louis Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Saint-Louis 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.
• In addition to being known as "Saint-Louis Airport", another name for XLS is "Aéroport de Saint-Louis".

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.
• 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.
• 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 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.