Nonstop flight route between Vopnafjörður, Iceland and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN), Vopnafjörður, Iceland and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,157 miles (or 5,081 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 Vopnafjörður Airport and Minot 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 Vopnafjörður Airport and Minot 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 Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN):

• Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Vopnafjörður Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Vopnafjörður 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 furthest airport from Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,132 miles (17,915 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Vopnafjörður Airport", another name for VPN is "Vopnafjarðarflugvöllur".
• The closest airport to Vopnafjörður Airport (VPN) is Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSE of VPN.

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• Originally opened in 1957 as an Air Defense Command base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers and aerial refueling aircraft.
• The scope of operations grew as the Air Force transferred the 525th Bombardment Squadron from the 19th Bombardment Wing at Homestead AFB, Florida, on 8 March 1961, followed by the first B-52H Stratofortress on 10 July 1961, nicknamed "Peace Persuader".
• Additionally on 12 July 2008, three Air Force officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic component that contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, a violation of procedure, Air Force officials said.
• The 91st Maintenance Group is the maintenance backbone of the 91st Missile Wing, originally activated as the 91st Maintenance and Supply Group on 10 November 1948.
• The 862d Combat Support Group was deactivated on 31 July 1972, with host unit duties being taken over by the 91st Combat Support Group.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• Strategic Air Command initially had units assigned to Minot AFB in 1958 for air refueling support.