Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Kocaeli, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı (KCO), Kocaeli, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,519 miles (or 8,881 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 Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı, 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 Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• 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 being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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 Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı (KCO):

• In addition to being known as "Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı", another name for KCO is "KCO[1]".
• The furthest airport from Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı (KCO) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Topel Airport was originally a Turkish Air Force facility.
• The closest airport to Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı (KCO) is İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) WNW of KCO.
• Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı (KCO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı's relatively low elevation of 182 feet, planes can take off or land at Cengiz Topel Airport Cengiz Topel Havalimanı 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 2011 the airport was opened to public air traffic.