Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Richland, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to RLD:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- RLD Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about RLD
- 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 RLD
- List of Nearest Airports to RLD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RLD
- List of Furthest Airports from RLD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Richland Airport (RLD), Richland, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 392 miles (or 631 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 Richland Airport, 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: |
|
| 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: | RLD / KRLD |
| Airport Name: | Richland Airport |
| Location: | Richland, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 46°18'20"N by 119°18'15"W |
| Area Served: | Richland, Washington |
| Operator/Owner: | Port of Benton |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 394 feet (120 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RLD |
| More Information: | RLD Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
- After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
- On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.
- 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.
- 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 AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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.
Facts about Richland Airport (RLD):
- Because of Richland Airport's relatively low elevation of 394 feet, planes can take off or land at Richland 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.
- Richland Airport is a public airport located two miles northwest of the central business district of Richland, a city in Benton County, Washington, United States.
- For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 29,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 79 per day.
- The furthest airport from Richland Airport (RLD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,783 miles (17,353 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Richland Airport (RLD) is Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of RLD.
- Richland Airport (RLD) has 2 runways.
