Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Cahokia, Illinois (near St. Louis), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS), Cahokia, Illinois (near St. Louis), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,223 miles (or 1,968 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 St. Louis Downtown 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):

• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".

Facts about St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS):

• Taken over by the United States Army Air Forces on 1 August 1939 as a basic pilot training airfield.
• Historic Hangar #2 houses the Greater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum and the airport is still home to the nation's oldest flight school, Parks College of Engineering and Aviation's Center for Aerospace Sciences, which holds CAA Flight School Certificate #1.
• The closest airport to St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) NW of CPS.
• St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,998 miles (17,700 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of St. Louis Downtown Airport's relatively low elevation of 413 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Louis Downtown 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.