Nonstop flight route between Stornoway, Scotland, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Stornoway Airport (SYY), Stornoway, Scotland, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,547 miles (or 5,708 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 Stornoway 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 Stornoway 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 Stornoway Airport (SYY):

• Because of Stornoway Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Stornoway 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.
• Stornoway Airport (SYY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Stornoway Airport (SYY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Stornoway Airport", another name for SYY is "Port-Adhair Steòrnabhagh".
• Stornoway Airport handled 125,582 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Stornoway Airport (SYY) is Benbecula Airport (BEB), which is located 63 miles (102 kilometers) SW of SYY.

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.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".