Nonstop flight route between Joensuu, Finland and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Joensuu Airport (JOE), Joensuu, Finland and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,261 miles (or 6,858 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 Joensuu 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 Joensuu 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 Joensuu Airport (JOE):

• The furthest airport from Joensuu Airport (JOE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,770 miles (17,332 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Joensuu Airport (JOE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Joensuu Airport", another name for JOE is "Joensuun lentoasema".
• Because of Joensuu Airport's relatively low elevation of 398 feet, planes can take off or land at Joensuu 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.
• The closest airport to Joensuu Airport (JOE) is Kitee Airfield (KTQ), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) SSE of JOE.
• Joensuu Airport handled 118,761 passengers last year.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• 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 May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• 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 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.