Nonstop flight route between Gyumri, Armenia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shirak International Airport (LWN), Gyumri, Armenia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,865 miles (or 9,439 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 Shirak International 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 Shirak International 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 Shirak International Airport (LWN):

• At the start of 2006, Armenia felt the importance of having a second international airport, when adverse weather conditions meant that many flights had to be diverted from Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport into Gyumri’s Shirak Airport.
• The furthest airport from Shirak International Airport (LWN) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,214 miles (18,047 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "Shirak International Airport", another name for LWN is "Շիրակ Օդանավակայան".
• The closest airport to Shirak International Airport (LWN) is Kars Airport (KSY), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) WSW of LWN.
• Shirak International Airport (LWN) currently has only 1 runway.
• According to Artem Movsisian, head of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, Corporacion America will to turn the airport in Gyumri into a first-class airport.
• Shirak Airport was closed for renovations from June 20 until October 20, 2007, during which time the runway was repaved and work was done on the airport lighting and the main terminal.
• Because of Shirak International Airport's high elevation of 5,000 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LWN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LWN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.