Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Leribe, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Leribe Airport (LRB), Leribe, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,916 miles (or 15,958 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 Leribe 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 Leribe 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):

• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• 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.
• 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.
• In late 1962 missiles assigned to 341st would play a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• 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.
• Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.

Facts about Leribe Airport (LRB):

• The furthest airport from Leribe Airport (LRB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,824 miles (19,030 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Leribe Airport's high elevation of 5,350 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LRB. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LRB a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Leribe Airport (LRB) is Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SW of LRB.
• Leribe Airport (LRB) currently has only 1 runway.