Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Poitiers, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to PIS:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- PIS Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about PIS
- 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 PIS
- List of Nearest Airports to PIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIS
- List of Furthest Airports from PIS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS), Poitiers, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,246 miles (or 6,834 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 Poitiers–Biard 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 Poitiers–Biard 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: | PIS / LFBI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Poitiers, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°35'14"N by 0°18'24"E |
Area Served: | Poitiers, France |
Operator/Owner: | CCI Vienne |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 423 feet (129 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIS |
More Information: | PIS Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
- Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
- During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
- In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
- Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
- 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 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.
Facts about Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS):
- The closest airport to Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport (ANG), which is located 59 miles (96 kilometers) S of PIS.
- In addition to being known as "Poitiers–Biard Airport", another name for PIS is "Aéroport de Poitiers – Biard".
- Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Poitiers–Biard Airport (PIS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Poitiers–Biard Airport (meaning Poitiers–Biard Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,189 miles (19,616 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Poitiers–Biard Airport's relatively low elevation of 423 feet, planes can take off or land at Poitiers–Biard 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.