Nonstop flight route between Leo, Burkina Faso and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leo Airport (XLU), Leo, Burkina Faso and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,892 miles (or 9,482 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 Leo 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 Leo 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 Leo Airport (XLU):

• The closest airport to Leo Airport (XLU) is Pô Airport (PUP), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) E of XLU.
• In addition to being known as "Leo Airport", another name for XLU is "Leo Airport (Leo)".
• Leo Airport (XLU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Leo Airport (XLU) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Leo Airport (meaning Leo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,238 miles (19,695 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.