Nonstop flight route between Madison, South Dakota, United States and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), Madison, South Dakota, United States and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 273 miles (or 439 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 relatively short distance between Madison Municipal Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Madison Municipal Airport (XMD):

• Madison Municipal Airport covers an area of 375 acres at an elevation of 1,718 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,587 miles (17,039 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NNE of XMD.
• In addition to being known as "Madison Municipal Airport", another name for XMD is "MDS".
• Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) has 2 runways.

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".
• 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.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.