Nonstop flight route between Irkutsk, Russia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between International Airport Irkutsk (IKT), Irkutsk, Russia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,394 miles (or 8,680 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 International Airport Irkutsk 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 International Airport Irkutsk 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 International Airport Irkutsk (IKT):

• In addition to being known as "International Airport Irkutsk", another name for IKT is "Международный Аэропорт Иркутск".
• The closest airport to International Airport Irkutsk (IKT) is Baikal International Airport (UUD), which is located 133 miles (215 kilometers) ESE of IKT.
• International Airport Irkutsk (IKT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is actually located within the city.
• The furthest airport from International Airport Irkutsk (IKT) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is nearly antipodal to International Airport Irkutsk (meaning International Airport Irkutsk is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield), and is located 12,299 miles (19,794 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.
• Apart from foggy weather, the airport is notorious for its sloping runway and having many hills in its vicinity.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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 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.