Nonstop flight route between Olbia, Italy and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB), Olbia, Italy and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,850 miles (or 7,805 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 Olbia Costa Smeralda 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 Olbia Costa Smeralda 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 Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB):

• Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport handled 1,887,640 passengers last year.
• Because of Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport's relatively low elevation of 37 feet, planes can take off or land at Olbia Costa Smeralda 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 addition to being known as "Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport", another name for OLB is "Aeroporto di Olbia-Costa Smeralda".
• The furthest airport from Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (meaning Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,071 miles (19,426 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB) is Figari-Sud Corse Airport (Figari South Corsica Airport) (FSC), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of OLB.
• Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.