Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Coningsby, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to QCY:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- QCY Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about QCY
- 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 QCY
- List of Nearest Airports to QCY
- Map of Furthest Airports from QCY
- List of Furthest Airports from QCY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and RAF Coningsby (QCY), Coningsby, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,945 miles (or 6,349 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 RAF Coningsby, 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 RAF Coningsby. 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: | QCY / EGXC |
Airport Name: | RAF Coningsby |
Location: | Coningsby, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 53°5'35"N by 0°9'57"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from QCY |
More Information: | QCY Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- 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.
- With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Facts about RAF Coningsby (QCY):
- The RAF Coningsby structure as of October 2010
- The closest airport to RAF Coningsby (QCY) is RAF Binbrook (GSY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) N of QCY.
- Also based at Coningsby is the RAF's Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit, a merger of the Strike/Attack OEU, the Tornado F.3 OEU and the Air-Guided Weapons OEU.
- The furthest airport from RAF Coningsby (QCY) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The base received its first jet aircraft — the English Electric Canberra — in 1953.
- The Phantom's role changed to air defence in October 1974 when the base joined 11 Group in RAF Strike Command, when the SEPECAT Jaguar took over the ground attack role.
- RAF Coningsby was opened in 1940 as a bomber station.No.