Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Chelyabinsk, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK), Chelyabinsk, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,198 miles (or 8,365 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 Chelyabinsk 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 Chelyabinsk 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):

• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of 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 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• 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 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.

Facts about Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK):

• In addition to being known as "Chelyabinsk Airport", another name for CEK is "Аэропорт Челябинск".
• The furthest airport from Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK) is Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), which is located 10,566 miles (17,004 kilometers) away in Puerto Natales, Chile.
• The closest airport to Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK) is Koltsovo Airport (SVX), which is located 103 miles (166 kilometers) NNW of CEK.
• Because of Chelyabinsk Airport's relatively low elevation of 741 feet, planes can take off or land at Chelyabinsk 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.
• Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK) currently has only 1 runway.