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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Birjand International Airport (XBJ), Birjand, Iran would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,666 miles (or 10,728 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 Birjand 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 Birjand 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• In May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Birjand International Airport (XBJ):

• Birjand International Airport (XBJ) has 2 runways.
• Birjand airport was established in 1933, beginning with small aircraft.
• Because of Birjand International Airport's high elevation of 4,952 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XBJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XBJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Birjand International Airport", another name for XBJ is "فرودگاه بین المللی بیرجند".
• The furthest airport from Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,653 miles (18,754 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Birjand Airport has since opened a second passenger terminal to for the increasing number of passengers.
• The closest airport to Birjand International Airport (XBJ) is Tabas Airport (TCX), which is located 147 miles (237 kilometers) WNW of XBJ.
• In February 2012, Birjand International Airport saw the first traffic by a large aircraft, Iran Air's Airbus 300, on a test flight in order to prepare for Hajj traffic.