Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS), Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,953 miles (or 7,971 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 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 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 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• 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 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 May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.

Facts about Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS):

• In addition to being known as "Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport", another name for UUS is "Аэропорт Южно-Сахалинск".
• The furthest airport from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,459 miles (18,442 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUS) is Wakkanai Airport (WKJ), which is located 111 miles (179 kilometers) SSW of UUS.
• Because of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 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.