Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and San Diego, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,075 miles (or 1,731 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
• 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.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• 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".
• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• MATS reopened the C-54 Flight Training School as the 1272 Medium Transition Training Unit in May 1950, one month before the Korean War began.
• 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.
• 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.
• Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union increased dramatically when the Soviet Union closed all land travel between the western occupation sectors of Germany and the American, French and British sectors of Berlin.

Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):

• Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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.
• A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain less than six miles east of the airport.
• The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1946 the Navy decommissioned Brown Field and turned it over to San Diego County.
• The closest airport to Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
• Tijuana Airport, an airline airport, is just over 1 nmi to the south across the Mexico-United States border, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation.
• On September 1, 1962 the Navy transferred ownership of Brown Field to the City of San Diego, with the condition that it remains a public airport.
• In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
• Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.