Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to PTW:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- PTW Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about PTW
- 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 PTW
- List of Nearest Airports to PTW
- Map of Furthest Airports from PTW
- List of Furthest Airports from PTW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Heritage Field (PTW), Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,827 miles (or 2,940 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 Heritage Field, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | PTW / KPTW |
| Airport Name: | Heritage Field |
| Location: | Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°14'21"N by 75°33'24"W |
| Area Served: | Pottstown, Pennsylvania |
| Operator/Owner: | Limerick Aviation LP |
| Airport Type: | Public use |
| Elevation: | 309 feet (94 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PTW |
| More Information: | PTW Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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 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.
Facts about Heritage Field (PTW):
- The closest airport to Heritage Field (PTW) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 16 miles (27 kilometers) NE of PTW.
- Penn Airways is a fixed base operator located on the field.
- The furthest airport from Heritage Field (PTW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,706 miles (18,839 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Heritage Field covers an area of 220 acres at an elevation of 309 feet above mean sea level.
- Heritage Field (PTW) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Heritage Field's relatively low elevation of 309 feet, planes can take off or land at Heritage Field 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.
