Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Penza, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Penza Airport (PEZ), Penza, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,113 miles (or 8,229 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 Penza 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 Penza 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):

• 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 October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.

Facts about Penza Airport (PEZ):

• In addition to being known as "Penza Airport", another name for PEZ is "Аеропорт Пенза".
• The furthest airport from Penza Airport (PEZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,463 miles (16,838 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Penza Airport (PEZ) is Saransk Airport (SKX), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) N of PEZ.
• Because of Penza Airport's relatively low elevation of 614 feet, planes can take off or land at Penza 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.
• Penza Airport (PEZ) currently has only 1 runway.