Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to KIE:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- KIE Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about KIE
- 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 KIE
- List of Nearest Airports to KIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIE
- List of Furthest Airports from KIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,683 miles (or 10,756 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 Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | KIE / AYKT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°18'11"S by 155°43'23"E |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIE |
More Information: | KIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
- Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
- 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):
- The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.
- Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- After World War II the airport became one of Bougainville's main airports.
- In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
- The airport was partially destroyed during the Bougainville Crisis of the 1990s and has been closed since then.
- The furthest airport from Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- Because of Kieta/Aropa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kieta/Aropa 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.