Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Flanders, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), Flanders, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,580 miles (or 7,371 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 Ostend-Bruges International 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 Ostend-Bruges International 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):

• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States.
• 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.
• Upon completion of the B-17 training program, in October 1943, Great Falls Army Air Base was transferred to the Air Transport Command and units from Gore Field were transferred to the base.
• 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.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.

Facts about Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST):

• The furthest airport from Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,925 miles (19,192 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During the Second World War, the German occupiers moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of Middelkerke, five kilometres southwest of Ostend.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport handled 678,638 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of OST.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 1 May 2003, Ryanair started a new route between Ostend and London-Stansted.
• Because of Ostend-Bruges International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Ostend-Bruges International 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.