Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Dresden, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Dresden Airport (DRS), Dresden, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,474 miles (or 7,200 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 Dresden 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 Dresden 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.

Facts about Dresden Airport (DRS):

• Dresden Airport is situated some 9 km north of the centre of Dresden.
• In addition to being known as "Dresden Airport", another name for DRS is "Flughafen Dresden".
• The furthest airport from Dresden Airport (DRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe bus route 77 provides a link from the airport to DVB tram route 7, which provides an alternative route to central Dresden.
• Because of Dresden Airport's relatively low elevation of 754 feet, planes can take off or land at Dresden 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.
• In 2008, 1,860,364 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 0.3% over the previous year and a record for the airport.
• Between 1955 and 1961, the East German government decided to develop its own aviation industry centred on Dresden.
• Dresden Airport (DRS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dresden Airport (DRS) is Leipzig–Altenburg Airport (AOC), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) W of DRS.