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):

• The airport is actually located within the city.
• The airport has a series of direct international flights to Vietnam, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Spain, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and South Korea.
• International Airport Irkutsk (IKT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to International Airport Irkutsk (IKT) is Baikal International Airport (UUD), which is located 133 miles (215 kilometers) ESE of IKT.
• In addition to being known as "International Airport Irkutsk", another name for IKT is "Международный Аэропорт Иркутск".
• 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".