Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Berdyansk, Ukraine:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Berdyansk Airport (ERD), Berdyansk, Ukraine would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,331 miles (or 8,579 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 Berdyansk 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 Berdyansk 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):

• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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.
• 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 the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• 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".
• 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.

Facts about Berdyansk Airport (ERD):

• Berdyansk Airport (ERD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Berdyansk Airport (ERD) is Mariupol International Airport (MPW), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) ENE of ERD.
• In addition to being known as "Berdyansk Airport", another name for ERD is ""Бердянськ Аеропорт"".
• The furthest airport from Berdyansk Airport (ERD) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,822 miles (17,416 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Berdyansk Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Berdyansk 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.