Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Airlie Beach, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to WSY:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- WSY Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about WSY
- 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 WSY
- List of Nearest Airports to WSY
- Map of Furthest Airports from WSY
- List of Furthest Airports from WSY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Whitsunday Airport (WSY), Airlie Beach, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,343 miles (or 13,427 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 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 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: | WSY / YWHI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Airlie Beach, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°16'36"S by 148°45'19"E |
Operator/Owner: | Jeffrey Ruddell |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 40 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WSY |
More Information: | WSY 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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 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 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.
Facts about Whitsunday Airport (WSY):
- In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Airport", another name for WSY is "Shute Harbour Airport".
- Because of Whitsunday Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday 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.
- Whitsunday Airport (WSY) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,982 miles (19,283 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- The closest airport to Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of WSY.