Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ampara, Sri Lanka:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ampara Airport (ADP), Ampara, Sri Lanka would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,567 miles (or 13,788 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 Ampara 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 Ampara Airport. 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
• 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.
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• Construction of the wing's first launch facility began in March 1961 and was completed in December.

Facts about Ampara Airport (ADP):

• Because of Ampara Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Ampara 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ampara Airport", another name for ADP is "අම්පාර ගුවන්තොටුපළஅம்பாறை விமான நிலையம்".
• The furthest airport from Ampara Airport (ADP) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,703 miles (18,834 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Ampara Airport (ADP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ampara Airport (ADP) is Batticaloa Airport (BTC), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of ADP.