Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to SWS:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- SWS Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about SWS
- 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 SWS
- List of Nearest Airports to SWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SWS
- List of Furthest Airports from SWS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Swansea Airport (SWS), Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,351 miles (or 7,002 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 Swansea 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 Swansea 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: | SWS / EGFH |
Airport Name: | Swansea Airport |
Location: | Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'19"N by 4°4'4"W |
Operator/Owner: | Swansea Airport Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 299 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SWS |
More Information: | SWS Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- With the development of the three-stage, solid-fuel Minuteman I missile in the late 1950s SAC began searching for sites to deploy this revolutionary weapon.
- In 1957, under the control of the 801st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, the Malmstrom AFB radar station became operational with AN/FPS-20 search and AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars.
- In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club and Rainbow Dam Road approximately six miles east of Great Falls.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
- Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
- 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.
Facts about Swansea Airport (SWS):
- The airport was, for a short time, the headquarters of Air Wales before they ceased all operations from the airport to focus on more popular routes from Cardiff International Airport, although before their demise, the headquarters remained in Swansea, instead at a city-centre location.
- The airport is mainly used to handle light helicopters and small private aircraft.
- Swansea Airport (SWS) has 2 runways.
- Because of Swansea Airport's relatively low elevation of 299 feet, planes can take off or land at Swansea 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 Swansea Airport (SWS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,966 miles (19,257 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Located on the eastern part of the site is the airport's only terminal building with seats for 25 passengers.
- The closest airport to Swansea Airport (SWS) is MoD St Athan (DGX), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) ESE of SWS.
- From 2008 to 2011 the airport was the base for the formation aerobatic team 'Team Osprey'.