Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Valdivia, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Pichoy Airport (ZAL), Valdivia, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,234 miles (or 10,033 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 Pichoy 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 Pichoy 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):

• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• 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 Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 Pichoy Airport (ZAL):

• The closest airport to Pichoy Airport (ZAL) is Maquehue Airport (ZCO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) NNE of ZAL.
• Because of Pichoy Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Pichoy 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.
• The furthest airport from Pichoy Airport (ZAL) is Wuhai Airport (WUA), which is nearly antipodal to Pichoy Airport (meaning Pichoy Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Wuhai Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,997 kilometers) away in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China.
• In addition to being known as "Pichoy Airport", another name for ZAL is "Aeródromo Pichoy".
• Pichoy Airport (ZAL) currently has only 1 runway.