Nonstop flight route between Kokkola / Jakobstad, Finland and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK), Kokkola / Jakobstad, Finland and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,075 miles (or 6,559 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 Kokkola-Pietarsaari 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 Kokkola-Pietarsaari 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 Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK):

• Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,860 miles (17,477 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Kokkola-Pietarsaari 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.
• Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport handled 94,684 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport", another name for KOK is "Karleby-Jakobstad flygplatsKokkola-Pietarsaaren lentoasema".
• The closest airport to Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK) is Kauhava Airport (KAU), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) S of KOK.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.