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):

• 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.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.

Facts about Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR):

• In addition to being known as "Varna Airport Aksakovo", another name for VAR is "Летище Варна Аксаково".
• From 15 October 2011 until 28 February 2012, Varna airport was closed for a reconstruction of the 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.
• Passengers can enjoy a large variety of retail outlets including a Bulgarian souvenir shop.
• Varna Airport Aksakovo (VAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 24 May 2013, Air VIA flight 502 from Leipzig to Varna overshot the runway at Varna Airport after touchdown.
• 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.
• 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.