Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to PLM:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- PLM Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about PLM
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLM
- List of Nearest Airports to PLM
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLM
- List of Furthest Airports from PLM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM), Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,687 miles (or 13,980 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II), 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Great Falls, Montana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°30'16"N by 111°11'13"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from GFA |
| More Information: | GFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLM / WIPP |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 2°54'1"S by 104°42'0"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 121 feet (37 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PLM |
| More Information: | PLM Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
- In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club and Rainbow Dam Road approximately six miles east of Great Falls.
Facts about Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM):
- Because of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)'s relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Sultan Thaha Airport (DJB), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NW of PLM.
- Between the development undertaken is an extension of the runway along the 300 meters x 60 meters to 3,000 meters x 60 meters, construction vehicle parking area of 20,000 meters which can accommodate 1,000 vehicles as well as the construction of a three-floor passenger terminal covering 13,000 square meters which can accommodate 1,250 passengers, equipped aerobridges and cargo terminals, and other support buildings covering an area of 1900 square meters.
- In addition to being known as "Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)", another name for PLM is "Bandar Udara Internasional Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (SMB II)".
- Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Benito Salas Airport (NVA), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (meaning Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Benito Salas Airport), and is located 12,433 miles (20,009 kilometers) away in Neiva, Colombia.
- On September 24, 1975, Garuda Indonesia Flight 150 crashed on approach to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport.
- At least as early as 1938, Palembang was served by a civil airport at Talang Betutu, operating as a Customs Aerodrome equipped with wireless and direction finding equipment, and basic ground facilities.
