Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cordova, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV), Cordova, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,628 miles (or 2,621 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• On 21 August 1954 the 407th SFW Vice Commander, Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, died when his T-33 Shooting Star trainer crashed approximately one mile west of the Great Falls Municipal Airport.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• MATS reopened the C-54 Flight Training School as the 1272 Medium Transition Training Unit in May 1950, one month before the Korean War began.
• 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 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.
• The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
• Great Falls became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• 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.

Facts about Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV):

• The closest airport to Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Cordova Municipal Airport (CKU), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of CDV.
• Because of Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport's relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith 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 furthest airport from Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,562 miles (16,998 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) has 2 runways.