Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nikolai, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nikolai Airport (NIB), Nikolai, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,954 miles (or 3,145 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 relatively short distance between Malmstrom Air Force Base and Nikolai Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.
• 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.
• On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
• 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.
• 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.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• 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.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.

Facts about Nikolai Airport (NIB):

• Because of Nikolai Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolai 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.
• Nikolai Airport covers an area of 76 acres at an elevation of 441 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Nikolai Airport (NIB) is McGrath Airport (MCG), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) W of NIB.
• Nikolai Airport (NIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Nikolai Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile northeast of the central business district of Nikolai, a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Nikolai Airport (NIB) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,431 miles (16,787 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Nikolai Airport", other names for NIB include "FSP" and "Nikolai".