Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Varna, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR), Varna, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,311 miles (or 8,547 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo, 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 Varna Airport Aksakovo. 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):

• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• 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 DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.

Facts about Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR):

• There are domestic and international flights to about 75 destinations in 29 countries, more than 65 Bulgarian and foreign airlines.
• Varna Airport is the airport of Varna, the historical maritime capital of Bulgaria.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo handled 132,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Burgas Airport (BOJ), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) SSW of VAR.
• There are domestic and international flights to about 70 destinations in 25 countries, with Bulgarian and foreign airlines.
• Because of Varna Airport Aksakovo's relatively low elevation of 230 feet, planes can take off or land at Varna Airport Aksakovo 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.
• In addition to being known as "Varna Airport Aksakovo", another name for VAR is "Летище Варна Аксаково".
• Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,224 miles (18,063 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.