Nonstop flight route between Ziguinchor, Senegal and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ziguinchor Airport (ZIG), Ziguinchor, Senegal and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,168 miles (or 8,316 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 Ziguinchor 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 Ziguinchor 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 Ziguinchor Airport (ZIG):

• In addition to being known as "Ziguinchor Airport", another name for ZIG is "Aéroport de Ziguinchor".
• The furthest airport from Ziguinchor Airport (ZIG) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is nearly antipodal to Ziguinchor Airport (meaning Ziguinchor Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kirakira Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,708 kilometers) away in Kirakira, Makira Island, Solomon Islands.
• Ziguinchor Airport (ZIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ziguinchor Airport (ZIG) is Cap Skirring Airport (CSK), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) WSW of ZIG.
• Because of Ziguinchor Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Ziguinchor 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.

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".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of 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 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.