Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Van, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), Van, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,293 miles (or 10,127 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 Van Ferit Melen 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 Van Ferit Melen 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):

• 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".
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• 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.
• On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.
• 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.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.

Facts about Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN):

• In addition to being known as "Van Ferit Melen Airport", another name for VAN is "Ferit Melen Havaalanı".
• The closest airport to Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Agri Airport (AJI), which is located 84 miles (134 kilometers) N of VAN.
• Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Van Ferit Melen Airport's high elevation of 5,480 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VAN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VAN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,369 miles (18,296 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.