Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Beslan / Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia–Alania, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Beslan Airport (OGZ), Beslan / Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia–Alania, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,727 miles (or 9,217 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 Beslan 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 Beslan 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• 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.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.

Facts about Beslan Airport (OGZ):

• Beslan Airport (OGZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Beslan Airport", other names for OGZ include "Аэропорт Беслӕн" and "Аэропорт Беслан".
• The furthest airport from Beslan Airport (OGZ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,046 miles (17,777 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Beslan Airport is a civilian airport in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia located 5 km northeast of Beslan and 15 kilometres from Vladikavkaz.
• The closest airport to Beslan Airport (OGZ) is Magas Airport (IGT), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) ENE of OGZ.