Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to SCS:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- SCS Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about SCS
- 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 SCS
- List of Nearest Airports to SCS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SCS
- List of Furthest Airports from SCS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Scatsta Airport (SCS), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,017 miles (or 6,464 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 Scatsta 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 Scatsta 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: |
|
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: | SCS / EGPM |
Airport Name: | Scatsta Airport |
Location: | Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°25'58"N by 1°17'45"W |
Area Served: | Shetland |
Operator/Owner: | Serco UK and Europe on behalf of BP |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 81 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SCS |
More Information: | SCS 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.
- 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.
- This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
- At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
- 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 became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
- With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
Facts about Scatsta Airport (SCS):
- The furthest airport from Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
- Scatsta Airport (SCS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Scatsta Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Scatsta 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.
- Scatsta Airport, is a commercial airport on Shetland in Scotland located 17 nautical miles north of Lerwick and 5 mi southwest of Sullom Voe Terminal.
- The closest airport to Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of SCS.
- It was abandoned after World War II, but reinstated as a civilian airport in 1978 to support the Shetland oil industry, and the Sullom Voe oil terminal in particular.