Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Proserpine, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP), Proserpine, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,363 miles (or 13,459 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 Whitsunday Coast 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 Whitsunday Coast Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

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 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 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.

Facts about Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP):

• Plans to build an airfield in Proserpine commenced in 1936, however construction was delayed due to a lack of funding.
• Because of Whitsunday Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday Coast 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.
• In the year ending 30 June 2011 the airport handled 213,619 passengers making it the 27th busiest airport in Australia.
• Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Coast Airport", another name for PPP is "Proserpine/Whitsunday Coast Airport".
• The closest airport to Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) NE of PPP.
• In January 2014, Whitsunday Regional Council announced it was to discuss with the Queensland state government the process for designating the airport precinct a PDA.
• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,963 miles (19,253 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.