Nonstop flight route between Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kuvumu Airport (BKY), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,957 miles (or 12,805 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 Kuvumu Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Kuvumu Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Kuvumu Airport (BKY):

• Kuvumu Airport (BKY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kuvumu Airport (meaning Kuvumu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,011 miles (19,330 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Kuvumu Airport's high elevation of 5,643 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BKY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BKY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Kuvumu Airport", other names for BKY include "Bukavu Kuvumu Airport" and "Kuvumu Airport (Bukavu)".
• The closest airport to Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) NE of BKY.

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.
• 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 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.
• 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".
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.