Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ofu, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ofu Airport (OFU), Ofu, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,575 miles (or 8,973 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 Ofu 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 Ofu 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):

• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
• 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 became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
• MATS reopened the C-54 Flight Training School as the 1272 Medium Transition Training Unit in May 1950, one month before the Korean War began.
• 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.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom 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.

Facts about Ofu Airport (OFU):

• Ofu Airport (OFU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ofu Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Ofu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ofu Airport", other names for OFU include "NSAS" and "Z08".
• The closest airport to Ofu Airport (OFU) is Tau Airport (TAV), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of OFU.
• The furthest airport from Ofu Airport (OFU) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Ofu Airport (meaning Ofu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,342 miles (19,863 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.