Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Olympia, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), Olympia, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 550 miles (or 886 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 Olympia Regional 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):

• On 18 December 1953, Great Falls AFB was transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Strategic Air Command, although MATS units remained at the base for several years.
• The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Olympia Regional Airport (OLM):

• The furthest airport from Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,822 miles (17,417 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Olympia Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 209 feet, planes can take off or land at Olympia Regional 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.
• The closest airport to Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of OLM.
• Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) has 2 runways.
• Olympia Regional Airport covers an area of 1,632 acres at an elevation of 209 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Olympia Regional Airport", another name for OLM is "Olympia Army Airfield".
• An FAA funded $15 million improvement project to make the airport a safer facility was completed in September, 2008, focusing on runway line-of-sight improvements and enhanced signage.