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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Inverness Airport (INV), Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,643 miles (or 5,863 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 Inverness 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 Inverness 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):

• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Inverness Airport (INV):

• In addition to being known as "Inverness Airport", another name for INV is "Port-adhair Inbhir Nis".
• Inverness Airport (INV) has 2 runways.
• Inverness Airport handled 608,184 passengers last year.
• Because of Inverness Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Inverness 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 airport is a hub on the Highlands and Islands network where flights between the islands, the Central Belt, and other UK destinations connect.
• The closest airport to Inverness Airport (INV) is Kinloss Barracks (FSS), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ENE of INV.
• The furthest airport from Inverness Airport (INV) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,631 miles (18,718 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• When Dan Air was bought by British Airways in 1992, the flag carrier retained the service for a further five years, adding a fourth daily frequency shortly before withdrawing the link, amid considerable controversy and public anger, in autumn 1997.