Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tarawa, Kiribati:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to TRW:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- TRW Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about TRW
- 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 TRW
- List of Nearest Airports to TRW
- Map of Furthest Airports from TRW
- List of Furthest Airports from TRW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Bonriki International Airport (TRW), Tarawa, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,482 miles (or 8,822 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 Bonriki International 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 Bonriki International 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: |
|
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: | TRW / NGTA |
Airport Name: | Bonriki International Airport |
Location: | Tarawa, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°22'54"N by 173°8'48"E |
Area Served: | Tarawa, Kiribati |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TRW |
More Information: | TRW 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".
- Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
- 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.
Facts about Bonriki International Airport (TRW):
- The furthest airport from Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Bonriki International Airport (meaning Bonriki International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,035 miles (19,368 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
- Because of Bonriki International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bonriki International 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 Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNW of TRW.
- Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country.
- The airport was built in December 1943 by United States Navy Seabees and was named "Mullinix Field", in honor of Rear Admiral Henry M.
- Bonriki International Airport (TRW) currently has only 1 runway.
- Almost immediately after the completion of the runway, it became the nexus of United States Army Air Forces operations from Tarawa, as the runway at nearby Hawkins Field on Betio was too short for safe bomber operations.