Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Bathpalathang Airport (BUT), Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,074 miles (or 11,384 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 Bathpalathang 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 Bathpalathang 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):

• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• 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.
• With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.

Facts about Bathpalathang Airport (BUT):

• Both Drukair and Tashi Air conducted inaugural flights to Bathpalathang on 17 December 2011—coinciding with the national day of Bhutan.
• The closest airport to Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) is Paro International Airport (PBH), which is located 82 miles (132 kilometers) W of BUT.
• Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bathpalathang Airport (BUT) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,332 miles (18,237 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• Because of Bathpalathang Airport's high elevation of 8,858 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.