Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Vientiane, Laos:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to VTE:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- VTE Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about VTE
- 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 VTE
- List of Nearest Airports to VTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from VTE
- List of Furthest Airports from VTE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Wattay International Airport (VTE), Vientiane, Laos would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,452 miles (or 11,992 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 Wattay 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 Wattay 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: |
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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: | VTE / VLVT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Vientiane, Laos |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°59'17"N by 102°33'47"E |
Operator/Owner: | Military of Laos |
Airport Type: | Military/Public/Civil Aviation Authority |
Elevation: | 564 feet (172 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VTE |
More Information: | VTE 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.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
- By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
- MATS reopened the C-54 Flight Training School as the 1272 Medium Transition Training Unit in May 1950, one month before the Korean War began.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
- 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.
- Construction of the wing's first launch facility began in March 1961 and was completed in December.
Facts about Wattay International Airport (VTE):
- Wattay International Airport (VTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The head office of the Department of Civil Aviation is on the airport property.
- The closest airport to Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี (UTH), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of VTE.
- In addition to being known as "Wattay International Airport", other names for VTE include "ສະໜາມບິນສາກົນວັດໄຕ" and "สนามบินนานาชาติวัตไต".
- The airport has a bonded warehouse building for air cargo passing through the airport.
- The furthest airport from Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Wattay International Airport (meaning Wattay International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.
- Because of Wattay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 564 feet, planes can take off or land at Wattay 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.