Nonstop flight route between Ventspils, Latvia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ventspils International Airport (VNT), Ventspils, Latvia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,368 miles (or 7,030 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 Ventspils 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 Ventspils 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 Ventspils International Airport (VNT):

• The furthest airport from Ventspils International Airport (VNT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,220 miles (18,057 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The possibility re-opening the airport was first discussed in the mid-1990s by which time Ventspils had become an important transport hub.
• At the start of 2001 all documentation for the airport exploitation was prepared and a modern security program was developed.
• At the time the re-opening of the airport was being considered, people in the Ventspils region and corporate clients who wished to travel by air used the airport at Riga that was 202 km away from Ventspils.
• Ventspils International Airport (VNT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ventspils International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Ventspils 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 closest airport to Ventspils International Airport (VNT) is Liepāja International Airport (LPX), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSW of VNT.
• In addition to commercial traffic, state departments used the airport for various reasons.
• In addition to being known as "Ventspils International Airport", another name for VNT is "Ventspils Starptautiskā Lidosta".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.