Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Challis, Idaho, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to CHL:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- CHL Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about CHL
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to CHL
- List of Nearest Airports to CHL
- Map of Furthest Airports from CHL
- List of Furthest Airports from CHL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Challis Airport (CHL), Challis, Idaho, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 252 miles (or 406 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 Challis Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | CHL / KLLJ |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Challis, Idaho, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°31'24"N by 114°13'4"W |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Challis |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5072 feet (1,546 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from CHL |
| More Information: | CHL Maps & Info |
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.
- Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
- 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.
- 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.
- Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
- With the development of the three-stage, solid-fuel Minuteman I missile in the late 1950s SAC began searching for sites to deploy this revolutionary weapon.
- 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 Challis Airport (CHL):
- In addition to being known as "Challis Airport", another name for CHL is "LLJ".
- Challis Airport (CHL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Challis Airport (CHL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 10,728 miles (17,265 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- The closest airport to Challis Airport (CHL) is Lemhi County Airport (SMN), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) NNE of CHL.
- Because of Challis Airport's high elevation of 5,072 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CHL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CHL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
