Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR), Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,587 miles (or 8,992 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 Taranto-Grottaglie 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 Taranto-Grottaglie Airport. 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.

Facts about Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR):

• Because of Taranto-Grottaglie Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Taranto-Grottaglie 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 airport resides at an elevation of 215 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Brindisi – Salento Airport (BDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of TAR.
• Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta" Airport is an airport serving Taranto and Grottaglie, both comunes in the province of Taranto in Italy.
• In addition to being known as "Taranto-Grottaglie Airport", other names for TAR include "Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie" and "Taranto Grottaglie".
• The furthest airport from Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,817 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During World War II, Grottaglie Airfield was a military airfield used by the United States Army Air Forces.