Nonstop flight route between Ankara, Turkey and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Esenboğa International Airport (ESB), Ankara, Turkey and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,635 miles (or 9,069 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 Esenboğa International 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 Esenboğa International 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 Esenboğa International Airport (ESB):

• Esenboğa International Airport handled 10,900,000 passengers last year.
• Esenboğa International Airport was awarded as the best airport in Europe by ACI Europe and the award presented to airport officials on 17 June 2009 in Manchester.
• The furthest airport from Esenboğa International Airport (ESB) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Esenboğa International Airport (ESB) is Kastamonu Airport (KFS), which is located 92 miles (148 kilometers) NNE of ESB.
• In addition to being known as "Esenboğa International Airport", another name for ESB is "Esenboğa Uluslararası Havalimanı".
• Esenboğa International Airport (ESB) has 2 runways.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.