Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kōchi, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kōchi Airport (KCZ), Kōchi, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,549 miles (or 8,931 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 Kōchi 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 Kōchi 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):

• On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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 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 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• 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.

Facts about Kōchi Airport (KCZ):

• Kōchi Airport (KCZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kōchi Airport's relatively low elevation of 29 feet, planes can take off or land at Kōchi 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 closest airport to Kōchi Airport (KCZ) is Takamatsu Airport (TAK), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) NNE of KCZ.
• Kōchi Airport, also known as Kōchi Ryōma Airport, is a regional airport in Nankoku, a city in Kōchi Prefecture of Japan.
• The furthest airport from Kōchi Airport (KCZ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kōchi Airport (meaning Kōchi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,083 miles (19,446 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The runway was expanded in 1960 and 1980 and later to 2,500 metres to handle larger aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Kōchi Airport", another name for KCZ is "高知空港".