Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Decatur, Alabama, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to DCU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- DCU Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about DCU
- 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 DCU
- List of Nearest Airports to DCU
- Map of Furthest Airports from DCU
- List of Furthest Airports from DCU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), Decatur, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,533 miles (or 2,467 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 Pryor Field Regional 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: |
|
| 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: | DCU / KDCU |
| Airport Name: | Pryor Field Regional Airport |
| Location: | Decatur, Alabama, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°39'15"N by 86°56'43"W |
| Area Served: | Decatur, Alabama |
| Operator/Owner: | Decatur/Athens Airport Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 592 feet (180 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DCU |
| More Information: | DCU Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
- At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
- 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.
- The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
- 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.
Facts about Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU):
- Opened in October 1941 with 4,600 by 4,600 feet square all-direction turf runway.
- Because of Pryor Field Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 592 feet, planes can take off or land at Pryor Field Regional 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.
- In 2007, Chris Wright was struck by a propeller as he was "hand propping" starting his plane.
- The closest airport to Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Huntsville International Airport (HSV), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DCU.
- Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) currently has only 1 runway.
- Pryor Field Regional Airport covers an area of 200 acres which contains one asphalt paved runway measuring 6,107 x 100 ft.
- The furthest airport from Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,180 miles (17,992 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
