Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tauranga, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tauranga Airport (TRG), Tauranga, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,387 miles (or 11,888 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 Tauranga 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 Tauranga 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 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.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• 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.
• Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.

Facts about Tauranga Airport (TRG):

• The airport was opened in 1936.
• Because of Tauranga Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Tauranga 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.
• Tauranga Airport (TRG) has 4 runways.
• Tauranga airport is the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand in terms of aircraft movements, with 86,935 movements during 2010.
• Tauranga Airport is located within a Control Zone which is controlled by Tauranga Tower.
• The furthest airport from Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Tauranga Airport (meaning Tauranga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• The closest airport to Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Matamata Airport (MTA), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) W of TRG.