Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Mafeteng, Lesotho:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to MFC:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- MFC Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about MFC
- 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 MFC
- List of Nearest Airports to MFC
- Map of Furthest Airports from MFC
- List of Furthest Airports from MFC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Mafeteng Airport (MFC), Mafeteng, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,285 miles (or 14,943 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 Mafeteng 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 Mafeteng 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: | MFC / FXMF |
Airport Name: | Mafeteng Airport |
Location: | Mafeteng, Lesotho |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°48'2"S by 27°14'35"E |
Area Served: | Mafeteng |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5350 feet (1,631 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MFC |
More Information: | MFC 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.
- During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- 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.
- 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.
- Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
- 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
- The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
Facts about Mafeteng Airport (MFC):
- The closest airport to Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NE of MFC.
- The furthest airport from Mafeteng Airport (MFC) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,788 miles (18,971 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Mafeteng Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MFC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MFC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Mafeteng Airport (MFC) currently has only 1 runway.