Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Dessie / Kombolcha, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Combolcha Airport (DSE), Dessie / Kombolcha, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,011 miles (or 12,892 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 Combolcha 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 Combolcha 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):

• 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.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Combolcha Airport (DSE):

• The closest airport to Combolcha Airport (DSE) is Mekane Selam Airport (MKS), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WSW of DSE.
• Combolcha Airport is an airport located between the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha in north-central Ethiopia.
• Because of Combolcha Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Combolcha 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 Combolcha Airport (DSE) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Combolcha Airport (meaning Combolcha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,311 miles (19,813 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.