Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ørsta / Volda / Hovden, Møre og Romsdal, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV), Ørsta / Volda / Hovden, Møre og Romsdal, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,750 miles (or 6,034 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 Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden, 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 Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden. 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".
• 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.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• 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 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.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV):

• The furthest airport from Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,168 miles (17,973 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden handled 99,470 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV) is Sandane Airport, Anda (SDN), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) S of HOV.
• In addition to being known as "Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden", another name for HOV is "Ørsta–Volda lufthamn, Hovden".
• Because of Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden 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.