Nonstop flight route between Moscow, Russia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), Moscow, Russia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,816 miles (or 7,751 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 Vnukovo International 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 Vnukovo International 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 Vnukovo International Airport (VKO):

• On 4 November 1957, a plane carrying Romanian Workers' Party officials, including the most prominent politicians of Communist Romania, was involved in an accident at Vnukovo Airport.
• Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) has 2 runways.
• Several taxi services to Moscow city and suburbs are available at the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Vnukovo International Airport", another name for VKO is "Международный Аэропорт Внуково".
• The furthest airport from Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,747 miles (17,296 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 15 September 1956, the Tupolev Tu-104 jetliner made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk via Omsk.
• The expansion plans include lengthening one of the two V-configured runways to 3,800 m and upgrading the instrument landing system from the present CAT II to CAT III.
• Because of Vnukovo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 686 feet, planes can take off or land at Vnukovo International 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.
• The airport can handle a maximum of 10,100 passengers per hour, and 4,000 people are employed there.
• The closest airport to Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Ostafyevo International Airport (OSF), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of VKO.
• Vnukovo International Airport handled 11,175,100 passengers last year.

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 March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• 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.