Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Abau, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to ABW:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- ABW Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about ABW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to ABW
- List of Nearest Airports to ABW
- Map of Furthest Airports from ABW
- List of Furthest Airports from ABW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Abau Airport (ABW), Abau, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,839 miles (or 12,616 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Abau Airport, 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Abau Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ABW / |
Airport Name: | Abau Airport |
Location: | Abau, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 10°10'1"S by 148°41'59"E |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from ABW |
More Information: | ABW Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
Facts about Abau Airport (ABW):
- The closest airport to Abau Airport (ABW) is Agaun Airport (AUP), which is located 49 miles (80 kilometers) ENE of ABW.
- Because of Abau Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Abau 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 Abau Airport (ABW) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,873 miles (19,108 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.