Nonstop flight route between Sukhumi, Georgia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sukhumi Babushara Airport (SUI), Sukhumi, Georgia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,673 miles (or 9,130 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 Sukhumi Babushara Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Sukhumi Babushara Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Sukhumi Babushara Airport (SUI):

• The furthest airport from Sukhumi Babushara Airport (SUI) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,052 miles (17,786 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Sukhumi Babushara Airport (SUI) is Sochi International Airport, Russia (AER), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) NW of SUI.
• Sukhumi Babushara Airport (SUI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sukhumi Babushara Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Sukhumi Babushara 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.
• In 2006 the government of the Republic of Abkhazia expressed its desire to resume international air traffic in the future, however the facility is not recognized as an international airport by ICAO and flights can only be allowed with the permission of the Georgian government.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• 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 March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.