Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Shiraz, Iran:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Shiraz International Airport (SYZ), Shiraz, Iran would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,768 miles (or 10,892 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 Shiraz International 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 Shiraz International 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):

• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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.

Facts about Shiraz International Airport (SYZ):

• Shiraz International Airport consists of three terminals, with two Terminals for arrival and departure for International flights and one for Domestic flights.
• The furthest airport from Shiraz International Airport (SYZ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,794 miles (18,981 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Shiraz International Airport (SYZ) is Bushehr Airport (BUZ), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) WSW of SYZ.
• Because of Shiraz International Airport's high elevation of 4,920 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SYZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SYZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Shiraz International Airport (SYZ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Shiraz International Airport", another name for SYZ is "Shahid Dastghaib International Airport Tadayon Air Base".