Nonstop flight route between Minsk, Belarus and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minsk National Airport (MSQ), Minsk, Belarus and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,713 miles (or 7,585 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 Minsk National 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 Minsk National 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 Minsk National Airport (MSQ):

• Minsk National Airport (MSQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1977 in the environs of the Belarusian capital the building of the new airport "Minsk-2" was begun.
• Because of Minsk National Airport's relatively low elevation of 669 feet, planes can take off or land at Minsk National 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 airport is located 42 km east of Minsk, and is linked with the city with a toll-free highway.
• The furthest airport from Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,134 miles (17,918 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Minsk-1 Airport (MHP), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) W of MSQ.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk National Airport", another name for MSQ is "Нацыянальны аэрапорт МінскНациональный аэропорт Минск".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.