Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Luanda, Angola:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD), Luanda, Angola would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,249 miles (or 13,276 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 Quatro de Fevereiro International 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 Quatro de Fevereiro International 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.
• 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 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.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD):

• The furthest airport from Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 11,862 miles (19,090 kilometers) away in Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
• Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport handled 2,430,794 passengers last year.
• On 27 June 2009, a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER G-RAES was damaged, while it was parked, by a collision with a Hainan Airlines Airbus A340-600 B-6510.
• The closest airport to Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) is Ambriz Airport (AZZ), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) N of LAD.
• On 25 May 2003, a Boeing 727–223 with the registration number N844AA, which had been parked at the airport for over a year, was stolen in mysterious circumstances.
• Because of Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Quatro de Fevereiro 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.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 243 feet above mean sea level.
• Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport", other names for LAD include "Aeroporto 4 de Fevereiro (Belas) (Luanda)" and "Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro".