Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kärdla, Hiiumaa, Estonia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kärdla Airport (KDL), Kärdla, Hiiumaa, Estonia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,632 miles (or 7,454 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 Kärdla 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 Kärdla 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 18 December 1953, Great Falls AFB was transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Strategic Air Command, although MATS units remained at the base for several years.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• 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.
• 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 Kärdla Airport (KDL):

• Kärdla Airport (KDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kärdla Airport (KDL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,109 miles (17,877 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Kärdla Airport", another name for KDL is "Kärdla lennujaam".
• The closest airport to Kärdla Airport (KDL) is Kuressaare Airport (URE), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SSW of KDL.
• On 23 November 2001 an airplane with 17 people on board crashed on its way from Tallinn to Kärdla, near Palade at Hiiumaa.
• The airport has an asphalt runway of 1,520 metres length and 30 metres width.
• Because of Kärdla Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Kärdla 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.