Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,978 miles (or 12,840 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 Coffs Harbour 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 Coffs Harbour 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):

• Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• On 18 December 1953, Great Falls AFB was transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Strategic Air Command, although MATS units remained at the base for several years.
• Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
• 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.

Facts about Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS):

• In 2011 the airport handled over 27,000 aircraft movements.
• The furthest airport from Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,967 miles (19,258 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of CFS.
• Because of Coffs Harbour Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Coffs Harbour 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.
• On 15 May 2003, an Ambulance Service of New South Wales Beechcraft B200C King Air aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Coffs Harbour Airport after it hit the sea or a reef near the Coffs Harbour boat harbour during an instrument approach in heavy rain and poor visibility.