Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Manzini, Swaziland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to MTS:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- MTS Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about MTS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MTS
- List of Nearest Airports to MTS
- Map of Furthest Airports from MTS
- List of Furthest Airports from MTS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Matsapha Airport (MTS), Manzini, Swaziland would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,948 miles (or 16,010 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 Matsapha 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 Matsapha 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: | MTS / FDMS |
| Airport Name: | Matsapha Airport |
| Location: | Manzini, Swaziland |
| GPS Coordinates: | 26°31'44"S by 31°18'27"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Government |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 2075 feet (632 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MTS |
| More Information: | MTS Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- 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.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
- 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 AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
- The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
- 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.
- Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
Facts about Matsapha Airport (MTS):
- Matsapha Airport (MTS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Matsapha Airport (MTS) is Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) N of MTS.
