Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Qiemo, Xinjiang, China:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to IQM:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- IQM Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about IQM
- 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 IQM
- List of Nearest Airports to IQM
- Map of Furthest Airports from IQM
- List of Furthest Airports from IQM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Qiemo Airport (IQM), Qiemo, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,430 miles (or 10,347 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 Qiemo 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 Qiemo 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: | IQM / ZWCM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Qiemo, Xinjiang, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°8'57"N by 85°31'58"E |
Area Served: | Qiemo, Xinjiang, China |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4108 feet (1,252 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from IQM |
More Information: | IQM Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- 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.
- With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
- Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
- Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
- 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.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
Facts about Qiemo Airport (IQM):
- In addition to being known as "Qiemo Airport", other names for IQM include "且末机场" and "Qiěmò Jīchǎng".
- The furthest airport from Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Pupelde Airfield (ZUD), which is located 11,316 miles (18,211 kilometers) away in Ancud, Los Lagos Region, Chile.
- Qiemo Airport (IQM) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Qiemo Airport's high elevation of 4,108 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IQM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IQM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Korla Airport (KRL), which is located 242 miles (389 kilometers) N of IQM.