Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nanchong, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO), Nanchong, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,551 miles (or 10,542 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 Nanchong Gaoping 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 Nanchong Gaoping 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 21 August 1954 the 407th SFW Vice Commander, Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, died when his T-33 Shooting Star trainer crashed approximately one mile west of the Great Falls Municipal Airport.

Facts about Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO):

• Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is Dazhou Heshi Airport (DAX), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of NAO.
• The furthest airport from Nanchong Gaoping Airport (NAO) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Nanchong Gaoping Airport (meaning Nanchong Gaoping Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,268 miles (19,744 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Nanchong Gaoping Airport", other names for NAO include "南充高坪机场" and "Nanchong Gaoping Jīchǎng".