Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Medan, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to MES:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- MES Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
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- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MES
- List of Nearest Airports to MES
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- List of Furthest Airports from MES
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,472 miles (or 13,634 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 Polonia 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 Polonia International 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: | MES / WIMM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Medan, Indonesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 3°33'29"N by 98°40'18"E |
Area Served: | Medan |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 114 feet (35 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from MES |
More Information: | MES Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In late 1962 missiles assigned to 341st would play a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
- 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.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- 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.
- By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
- 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.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):
- In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
- In 1879 the concession was handed over to Deli Maatschappij or NV Deli Maskapai.
- The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
- All flights and services from this airport shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport on 25 July 2013.
- Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia 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 closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
- After the ferry flights were completed, all of the airport activity officially shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport.