Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Jaffna, Sri Lanka:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to JAF:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- JAF Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about JAF
- 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 JAF
- List of Nearest Airports to JAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from JAF
- List of Furthest Airports from JAF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Jaffna Airport (JAF), Jaffna, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,443 miles (or 13,588 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 Jaffna 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 Jaffna 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: | JAF / VCCJ |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°47'32"N by 80°4'12"E |
Area Served: | Jaffna |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Sri Lanka |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 33 feet (10 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from JAF |
More Information: | JAF Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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 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.
- The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- 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.
- Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
Facts about Jaffna Airport (JAF):
- The inaugural flight by Air Ceylon on 10 December 1947 was from Ratmalana Airport to Madras via Kankesanthurai.
- A Sri Lanka Air Force detachment moved onto the site around 1976.
- In addition to being known as "Jaffna Airport", another name for JAF is "யாழ்ப்பாணம் விமான நிலையம்යාපනය ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
- Jaffna Airport (JAF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Jaffna Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Jaffna 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 Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
- The closest airport to Jaffna Airport (JAF) is Anuradhapura Airport (ACJ), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) SSE of JAF.