Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to PZB:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- PZB Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about PZB
- 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 PZB
- List of Nearest Airports to PZB
- Map of Furthest Airports from PZB
- List of Furthest Airports from PZB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), Pietermaritzburg, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,057 miles (or 16,186 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 Pietermaritzburg 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 Pietermaritzburg Airport. 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: | PZB / FAPM |
Airport Name: | Pietermaritzburg Airport |
Location: | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°38'48"S by 30°23'53"E |
Area Served: | Pietermaritzburg |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2423 feet (739 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PZB |
More Information: | PZB Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
- Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
- 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.
- Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
- With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
- 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.
- 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States.
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
Facts about Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB):
- The closest airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is King Shaka International (DUR), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of PZB.
- The furthest airport from Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,706 miles (18,839 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB) currently has only 1 runway.