Nonstop flight route between Blythe, California, United States and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Blythe Airport (BLH), Blythe, California, United States and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 977 miles (or 1,573 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 Blythe Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Blythe Airport (BLH):

• In addition to being known as "Blythe Airport", another name for BLH is "(former Blythe Army Air Field)".
• The airfield was declared surplus in 1946 and was reported to the General Service Administration for disposal.
• Because of Blythe Airport's relatively low elevation of 399 feet, planes can take off or land at Blythe 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 Army Air Forces then used Blythe as a heavy bombardment crew training base for the Second Air Force 16th Bombardment Training Wing 358th Combat Crew Training School.
• Blythe Airport was established by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in the late 1930s as an emergency landing field on the Los Angeles to Phoenix airway.
• The closest airport to Blythe Airport (BLH) is Laguna Army Airfield (LGF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) SSE of BLH.
• Blythe Airport (BLH) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Blythe Airport (BLH) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,472 miles (18,462 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• It never served Blythe, but Pacific Southwest Airlines conducted jet training flights from the Blythe Airport on occasion.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• 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.
• 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 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
• On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.