Nonstop flight route between Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Norfolk, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States and Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 637 miles (or 1,025 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 relatively short distance between Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Naval Station Norfolk, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):

• In January 2012 Southwest Airlines announced it would continue Airtran flights to Grand Rapids and eventually transfer them to Southwest.
• In 1959 construction began on the present airport in Cascade Township, several miles east of the original one.
• Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
• When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.
• An outdoor viewing area on Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street has picnic tables, litter barrels, and a portable toilet.
• The closest airport to Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Park Township Airport (HLM), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) W of GRR.
• The furthest airport from Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,165 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Gerald R. Ford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 794 feet, planes can take off or land at Gerald R. Ford 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.

Facts about Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• Locally, Fleet Air Wing 5 units flew under its operational command of the 5th Naval District.
• Air Operations conducts over 100,000 flight operations each year, an average of 275 flights per day or one every six minutes.
• Some 353 acres were eventually reclaimed at a cost of $2.1 million.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean.
• Hangars, a new dispensary, three runways, magazine areas, warehouses, barracks and docking areas were patterned after similar existing airfields.
• Using the same theories of Eugene Ely's flight nearly 13 years earlier, another milestone was achieved.
• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• As World War I came to an end, the former NAS Hampton Roads saw erratic growth, growing to nearly 167 officers, 1,227 enlisted men and 65 planes.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".