Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to TIW:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- TIW Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about TIW
- 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 TIW
- List of Nearest Airports to TIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from TIW
- List of Furthest Airports from TIW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 533 miles (or 857 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 relatively short distance between Malmstrom Air Force Base and Tacoma Narrows Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | TIW / KTIW |
Airport Name: | Tacoma Narrows Airport |
Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°16'5"N by 122°34'41"W |
Area Served: | Tacoma, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Pierce County Public Works & Utilities |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 294 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TIW |
More Information: | TIW Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
- With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
- Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls 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.
- Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
- 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.
- 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.
- Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
- At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
Facts about Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW):
- The closest airport to Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SSE of TIW.
- Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Tacoma Narrows Airport's relatively low elevation of 294 feet, planes can take off or land at Tacoma Narrows 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 Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,797 miles (17,376 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.