Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Vardø, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW), Vardø, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,077 miles (or 6,562 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes, 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes. 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):

• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• 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 North American Aerospace Defense Command was created in 1957.
• Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
• 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.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• In 1957, under the control of the 801st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, the Malmstrom AFB radar station became operational with AN/FPS-20 search and AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars.

Facts about Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW):

• Vardø Airport, Svartnes handled 14,664 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Vardø Airport, Svartnes", another name for VAW is "Vardø Lufthavn, Svartnes".
• The closest airport to Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 34 miles (56 kilometers) SW of VAW.
• Because of Vardø Airport, Svartnes's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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.
• The furthest airport from Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,373 miles (16,694 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Construction of a new terminal and upgrading the airport to regional standard started in 1984.
• The wooden runway was pillaged by locals to accumulate building materials for reconstruction.