Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Alexandria, Louisiana, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to ESF:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- ESF Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about ESF
- 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 ESF
- List of Nearest Airports to ESF
- Map of Furthest Airports from ESF
- List of Furthest Airports from ESF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Esler Field (ESF), Alexandria, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,176 miles (or 1,892 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Esler Field, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | ESF / KESF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Alexandria, Louisiana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°23'41"N by 92°17'44"W |
Area Served: | Central Louisiana |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 112 feet (34 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ESF |
More Information: | ESF Maps & Info |
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 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 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- 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 the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
- In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
- 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.
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
Facts about Esler Field (ESF):
- The closest airport to Esler Field (ESF) is Alexandria International Airport (AEX), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WSW of ESF.
- Because of Esler Field's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Esler Field 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 "Esler Field", another name for ESF is "Esler Regional AirportEsler Army Airfield".
- About 60 percent of the airport's operations are military and the rest are civilian.
- In December 1942, the mission was changed to training Reconnaissance units, and Esler was reassigned directly to Third Air Force.
- The furthest airport from Esler Field (ESF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,988 miles (17,683 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Esler Field (ESF) has 2 runways.
- In the 1970s, the airport had scheduled passenger airline service provided by several air carriers including Delta Air Lines which operated mainline jet aircraft from Esler.
- After World War I in 1919 the Army had abandoned Camp Beauregard and turned the property over to the state of Louisiana, which returned it to the United States, however interest in the military utilization of Camp Beauregard increased significantly in 1939 when war began in Europe.