Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Riohacha, Colombia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH), Riohacha, Colombia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,328 miles (or 5,355 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 Almirante Padilla 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 Almirante Padilla 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):

• Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
• The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
• 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".
• Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States.
• Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.
• 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.
• 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 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.

Facts about Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH):

• In addition to being known as "Almirante Padilla Airport", another name for RCH is "Aeropuerto Almirante Padilla".
• Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Almirante Padilla Airport (meaning Almirante Padilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,822 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• The closest airport to Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH) is La Mina Airport Jorge Isaacs Airport (MCJ), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) SE of RCH.
• Because of Almirante Padilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Almirante Padilla 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.