Nonstop flight route between Drake Bay, Costa Rica and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Drake Bay Airport (DRK), Drake Bay, Costa Rica and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,127 miles (or 5,032 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 Drake Bay Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base, 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 Drake Bay Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base. 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 Drake Bay Airport (DRK):

• The closest airport to Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ), which is located only 20 miles (31 kilometers) NE of DRK.
• The furthest airport from Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Drake Bay Airport (meaning Drake Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Drake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Drake Bay 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.
• Drake Bay Airport (DRK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
• 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.
• On 3 July 1963, following 28 months of construction, the wing and its three squadrons became operational.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union increased dramatically when the Soviet Union closed all land travel between the western occupation sectors of Germany and the American, French and British sectors of Berlin.