Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Sauðárkrókur, Iceland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK), Sauðárkrókur, Iceland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,342 miles (or 5,378 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 Sauðárkrókur 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 Sauðárkrókur 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):

• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• 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.
• 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.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

Facts about Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK):

• The furthest airport from Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,105 miles (17,872 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sauðárkrókur Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Sauðárkrókur 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.
• The closest airport to Sauðárkrókur Airport (SAK) is Siglufjörður Airport (SIJ), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NNE of SAK.