Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDR to SCS:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- RDR Airport Information
- SCS Airport Information
- Facts about RDR
- Facts about SCS
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDR
- List of Nearest Airports to RDR
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDR
- List of Furthest Airports from RDR
- Map of Nearest Airports to SCS
- List of Nearest Airports to SCS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SCS
- List of Furthest Airports from SCS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Scatsta Airport (SCS), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,617 miles (or 5,821 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 Scatsta 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 Scatsta Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDR / KRDR |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°57'39"N by 97°24'3"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RDR |
More Information: | RDR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SCS / EGPM |
Airport Name: | Scatsta Airport |
Location: | Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°25'58"N by 1°17'45"W |
Area Served: | Shetland |
Operator/Owner: | Serco UK and Europe on behalf of BP |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 81 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SCS |
More Information: | SCS Maps & Info |
Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
- The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
- 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 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
- On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
Facts about Scatsta Airport (SCS):
- After World War II Scatsta Aerodrome lay dormant except for the landing of a US Coastguard Hercules on 24 May 1969, in connection with the LORAN navigation station which had been established at the north west end of runway 13/31.
- Construction started in Spring 1940, of two runways.
- Scatsta Airport (SCS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Scatsta Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Scatsta 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.
- It was abandoned after World War II, but reinstated as a civilian airport in 1978 to support the Shetland oil industry, and the Sullom Voe oil terminal in particular.
- The furthest airport from Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of SCS.
- The airport has recently undergone significant upgrades as increasing investment has been provided to support the North Sea offshore rigs.