Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Perth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Perth Airport (PER), Perth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,760 miles (or 15,706 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 Perth 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 Perth 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.
• 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.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• 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 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.
• Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".

Facts about Perth Airport (PER):

• The move was agreed to by the government of the day, as the larger types of aircraft of the day being operated by the two airlines could simply not be handled at Maylands, notwithstanding the small grass airfield, lack of passenger facilities, and approaches being difficult due to surrounding industrial infrastructure.
• Despite military use of the airfield, civil services operated by Qantas Empire Airways and Australian National Airways commenced from the location in 1944.
• Perth Airport handled 13,664,394 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Perth Airport (PER) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Perth Airport (meaning Perth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,938 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
• The Guildford Aerodrome as it was then known was at best only a basic airfield.
• Because of Perth Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Perth 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.
• It was also on this day that Qantas commenced its Wallaby service using the Constellation Charles Kingsford Smith" from Sydney to South Africa via Western Australia, the Cocos Islands, and Mauritius.
• Perth Airport (PER) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Perth Airport (PER) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of PER.
• The two domestic terminals are side by side and about 12 km from the Perth CBD, while the international terminal is 17 km from Perth.
• Upon completion, the terminal was able to process up to five Boeing 747 aircraft per hour and accommodated a peak passenger volume of 6,000 passengers per hour.