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):

• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• The North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.

Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):

• 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.
• 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.
• Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain less than six miles east of the airport.
• In 1946 the Navy decommissioned Brown Field and turned it over to San Diego County.