Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ventspils, Latvia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to VNT:
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- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- VNT Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about VNT
- 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 VNT
- List of Nearest Airports to VNT
- Map of Furthest Airports from VNT
- List of Furthest Airports from VNT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ventspils International Airport (VNT), Ventspils, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,368 miles (or 7,030 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 Ventspils International 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 Ventspils International 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: | VNT / EVVA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Ventspils, Latvia |
GPS Coordinates: | 57°21'28"N by 21°32'39"E |
Operator/Owner: | Municipality of Ventspils |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 19 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VNT |
More Information: | VNT Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):
- During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- 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.
- SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
- 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.
- On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
- 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 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 Ventspils International Airport (VNT):
- At the time the re-opening of the airport was being considered, people in the Ventspils region and corporate clients who wished to travel by air used the airport at Riga that was 202 km away from Ventspils.
- In addition to being known as "Ventspils International Airport", another name for VNT is "Ventspils Starptautiskā Lidosta".
- The closest airport to Ventspils International Airport (VNT) is Liepāja International Airport (LPX), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSW of VNT.
- Ventspils International Airport (VNT) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Ventspils International Airport (VNT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,220 miles (18,057 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Ventspils International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Ventspils International 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.