Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Maripasoula, French Guiana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Maripasoula Airport (MPY), Maripasoula, French Guiana would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,534 miles (or 7,297 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 Maripasoula 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 Maripasoula 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls 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.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• 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.
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.

Facts about Maripasoula Airport (MPY):

• The furthest airport from Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Maripasoula Airport (meaning Maripasoula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NW of MPY.
• Maripasoula Airport (MPY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Maripasoula Airport's relatively low elevation of 377 feet, planes can take off or land at Maripasoula 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.