Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to CNS:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- CNS Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about CNS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to CNS
- List of Nearest Airports to CNS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CNS
- List of Furthest Airports from CNS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,677 miles (or 12,355 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Cairns Airport, 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Cairns Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Great Falls, Montana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°30'16"N by 111°11'13"W |
View all routes: | Routes from GFA |
More Information: | GFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CNS / YBCS |
Airport Name: | Cairns Airport |
Location: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°53'12"S by 145°45'17"E |
Area Served: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | North Queensland Airports Group |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CNS |
More Information: | CNS Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
- Upon completion of the B-17 training program, in October 1943, Great Falls Army Air Base was transferred to the Air Transport Command and units from Gore Field were transferred to the base.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- Great Falls became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
- The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- On 21 August 1954 the 407th SFW Vice Commander, Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, died when his T-33 Shooting Star trainer crashed approximately one mile west of the Great Falls Municipal Airport.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport.
- Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
- Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Cairns Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns 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 Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
- The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
- The furthest airport from Cairns Airport (CNS) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,832 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.