Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ludington, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Mason County Airport (LDM), Ludington, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,214 miles (or 1,954 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 relatively short distance between Malmstrom Air Force Base and Mason County Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• 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.
• With the development of the three-stage, solid-fuel Minuteman I missile in the late 1950s SAC began searching for sites to deploy this revolutionary weapon.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.

Facts about Mason County Airport (LDM):

• Because of Mason County Airport's relatively low elevation of 646 feet, planes can take off or land at Mason County 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 furthest airport from Mason County Airport (LDM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,095 miles (17,856 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Mason County Airport (LDM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Mason County Airport (LDM) is Manistee County Blacker Airport (MBL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNE of LDM.