Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yam Island, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to XMY:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- XMY Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about XMY
- 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 XMY
- List of Nearest Airports to XMY
- Map of Furthest Airports from XMY
- List of Furthest Airports from XMY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yam Island Airport (XMY), Yam Island, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,091 miles (or 13,022 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 Yam Island 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 Yam Island 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: | XMY / YYMI |
Airport Name: | Yam Island Airport |
Location: | Yam Island, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°53'8"S by 142°46'18"E |
Operator/Owner: | Torres Strait Island Regional Council |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XMY |
More Information: | XMY Maps & Info |
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 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
- Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
- In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
- 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.
- In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
- 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 Yam Island Airport (XMY):
- The closest airport to Yam Island Airport (XMY) is Coconut Island (CNC), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) ESE of XMY.
- The furthest airport from Yam Island Airport (XMY) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,510 miles (18,524 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- Yam Island Airport (XMY) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Yam Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Yam Island 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.