Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Kinloss Barracks (FSS), Forres, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,654 miles (or 5,881 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 Kinloss Barracks, 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 Kinloss Barracks. 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):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.

Facts about Kinloss Barracks (FSS):

• Kinloss Barracks is a former Royal Air Force station, located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland.
• In 1992 Nimrod aircraft deployed to the Persian Gulf as an integral component of the coalition forces to recapture Kuwait.
• Because of Kinloss Barracks's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kinloss Barracks 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 cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 meant that Kinloss was no longer required by the RAF.
• In November 1980 two pilots, Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Noel Anthony and RAF Flying Officer Stephen Belcher were killed when their aircraft struck birds on take off and crashed in woods to the east of Kinloss airfield.
• In 1939, 14 FTS moved south and were replaced by 19 Operational Training Unit training bomber crews for the offensive.
• The closest airport to Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is RAF Lossiemouth (LMO), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of FSS.
• The furthest airport from Kinloss Barracks (FSS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,616 miles (18,694 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• On 2 September 2006, 12 Nimrod crew members from 120 Squadron crew 3 and 2 observers were killed when their Nimrod, serial number XV230, exploded over Afghanistan.
• Kinloss Barracks (FSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 19 OTU was split into 236 Operational Conversion Unit and the School of Maritime Reconnaissance in 1947 with 236 remaining at Kinloss.