Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Harlingen, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to HRL:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- HRL Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about HRL
- 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 HRL
- List of Nearest Airports to HRL
- Map of Furthest Airports from HRL
- List of Furthest Airports from HRL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Valley International Airport (HRL), Harlingen, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,644 miles (or 2,646 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 Valley International 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: | HRL / KHRL |
| Airport Name: | Valley International Airport |
| Location: | Harlingen, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 26°13'37"N by 97°39'18"W |
| Area Served: | Harlingen, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Harlingen |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 36 feet (11 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from HRL |
| More Information: | HRL Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club and Rainbow Dam Road approximately six miles east of Great Falls.
- 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 base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
- 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 North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
- 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.
- 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.
- Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.
- 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.
Facts about Valley International Airport (HRL):
- The closest airport to Valley International Airport (HRL) is Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSE of HRL.
- Valley International Airport is a city owned airport three miles northeast of Harlingen, in Cameron County, Texas.
- Valley International Airport (HRL) has 3 runways.
- On April 2, 2012, a United Airlines, Flight 4128, made an emergency landing at Corpus Christi due to unknown reason when it suffered damage to its front landing gear and also experienced a flat tire.
- The furthest airport from Valley International Airport (HRL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,151 miles (17,946 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- After the airport's closure by the military, it was turned over to the local government and converted to civil use as Valley International Airport after Hurricane Beulah flooded the original Harlingen civil airport in 1967.
- Because of Valley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Valley International 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.
