Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Natori, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Sendai Airport (SDJ), Natori, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,045 miles (or 8,119 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 Sendai 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 Sendai 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):

• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• On 3 July 1963, following 28 months of construction, the wing and its three squadrons became operational.

Facts about Sendai Airport (SDJ):

• The Sendai Airport Line, which connects the airport to Sendai Station, opened on 18 March 2007.
• In 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army built Sendai Airport in order to use it for the Kumakaya Army Flight School, Masda Branch School Trainee Training Center.
• The furthest airport from Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,588 miles (18,650 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Sendai Airport (SDJ) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of SDJ.
• The control tower, Tokyo Regional Civil Aviation Bureau office and Air Cargo Terminal are located on the west side of the main terminal building.
• Sendai Airport (SDJ) has 2 runways.
• On 11 March 2011, the airport was first damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and then badly flooded by the subsequent tsunami.
• In addition to being known as "Sendai Airport", other names for SDJ include "仙台空港" and "Sendai Kūkō".
• Because of Sendai Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Sendai 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.