Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Catania, Italy:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to NSY:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- NSY Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about NSY
- 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 NSY
- List of Nearest Airports to NSY
- Map of Furthest Airports from NSY
- List of Furthest Airports from NSY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), Catania, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,222 miles (or 8,404 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella, 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 Naval Air Station Sigonella. 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: | NSY / LICZ |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Catania, Italy |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°24'6"N by 14°55'19"E |
Operator/Owner: | Italian Air Force United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 79 feet (24 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NSY |
More Information: | NSY 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 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 March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.
- 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.
- 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- 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".
- The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
Facts about Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY):
- Because of Naval Air Station Sigonella's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Sigonella 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.
- Most permanent party military personnel and families are housed in Marinai, located 2 minutes from NAS II and approximately 10–15 minutes from NAS I.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) is Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of NSY.
- When NATO took military intervention to Libya in 2011, NAS Sigonella played an important role in US Operation Odyssey Dawn because of its short distance to the country.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Sigonella", other names for NSY include "Base aerea di Sigonella" and "NAS Sigonella".
- Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY) has 2 runways.
- Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S.
- Sigonella suffered its second major flood mid December 2005.
- On 1 April 2004, the Defense Logistics Agency opened Defense Depot Sigonella Italy on NAS II to serve as a supply base for the Mediterranean.
- Ground was broken in September, and construction on the administrative area at NAF I was started in 1958.
- The United States Naval Air Facility, Sigonella, was established 15 June 1959.