Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN), Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,282 miles (or 6,891 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 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 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN):

• In April 2014 Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth German base at Cologne/Bonn Airport for October 2014.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport handled 9,280,070 passengers last year.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport is the international airport of Germany's fourth largest city, Cologne and also serves the former German capital Bonn.
• Also, the Canadian Forces began to use the airport as a staging area to move troops and supplies in support of humanitarian missions and possible anti-terrorism roles.
• Because of Cologne/Bonn Airport's relatively low elevation of 302 feet, planes can take off or land at Cologne/Bonn 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 furthest airport from Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,185 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 2006 the Brazilian airline BRA provided a twice a week connection to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, which was discontinued in April 2007 due to problems with the airline.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NNW of CGN.
• In addition to being known as "Cologne/Bonn Airport", another name for CGN is "Flughafen Köln/Bonn".