Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Great Falls, Montana, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from EDW to GFA:
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- About this route
- EDW Airport Information
- GFA Airport Information
- Facts about EDW
- Facts about GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to EDW
- List of Nearest Airports to EDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from EDW
- List of Furthest Airports from EDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 937 miles (or 1,507 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 Edwards Air Force Base and Malmstrom Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | EDW / KEDW |
| Airport Name: | Edwards Air Force Base |
| Location: | Edwards, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°54'20"N by 117°53'0"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States Air Force |
| View all routes: | Routes from EDW |
| More Information: | EDW Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):
- Jurisdiction of Edwards AFB was transferred from Air Materiel Command on 2 April 1951 to the newly created Air Research and Development Command.
- The closest airport to Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) is Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) NW of EDW.
- The furthest airport from Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,414 miles (18,369 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In the spring of 1942, however, the immense volume of flight test already being conducted at Wright Field, in Ohio, was one of the factors driving a search for a new site where a "Top Secret" airplane could undergo tests.
- The base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways.
- A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
- Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, located approximately 22 miles northeast of Lancaster.
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
- 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.
- In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
- At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
- On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.
- Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
