Nonstop flight route between Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, Russia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ignatyevo Airport (BQS), Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, Russia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,137 miles (or 8,267 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 Ignatyevo 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 Ignatyevo 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 Ignatyevo Airport (BQS):

• Because of Ignatyevo Airport's relatively low elevation of 640 feet, planes can take off or land at Ignatyevo 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.
• Ignatyevo Airport (BQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ignatyevo Airport (BQS) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is nearly antipodal to Ignatyevo Airport (meaning Ignatyevo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Port Stanley Airport), and is located 12,195 miles (19,626 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to Ignatyevo Airport (BQS) is Heihe Airport (HEK), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) SSW of BQS.
• In addition to being known as "Ignatyevo Airport", another name for BQS is "Аэропорт Игнатьево".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.