Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Qingyang, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Qingyang Airport (IQN), Qingyang, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,202 miles (or 9,980 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 Qingyang 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 Qingyang 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):

• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• 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".
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• 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.
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.

Facts about Qingyang Airport (IQN):

• In addition to being known as "Qingyang Airport", other names for IQN include "庆阳机场" and "Qìngyáng Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Qingyang Airport (IQN) is General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI), which is nearly antipodal to Qingyang Airport (meaning Qingyang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,922 kilometers) away in Chillán, Ñuble, Chile.
• The closest airport to Qingyang Airport (IQN) is Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) SE of IQN.