Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Bratsk Airport (BTK), Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,145 miles (or 8,279 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Bratsk Airport, 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base and Bratsk Airport. 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 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.

Facts about Bratsk Airport (BTK):

• In addition to being known as "Bratsk Airport", another name for BTK is "Аэропорт Братск".
• The furthest airport from Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport (PUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Bratsk Airport (meaning Bratsk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport), and is located 12,060 miles (19,408 kilometers) away in Punta Arenas, Chile.
• Bratsk airport serves as a diversion airport on Polar route 2.
• Bratsk Airport (BTK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bratsk Airport is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia located 8 kilometres north of Bratsk.
• The closest airport to Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Ust-Ilimsk (UIK), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) NNE of BTK.