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):

• 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.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• Upon completion of the B-17 training program, in October 1943, Great Falls Army Air Base was transferred to the Air Transport Command and units from Gore Field were transferred to the 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• On 21 August 1954 the 407th SFW Vice Commander, Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, died when his T-33 Shooting Star trainer crashed approximately one mile west of the Great Falls Municipal Airport.
• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• The base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.

Facts about Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW):

• The closest airport to Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 34 miles (56 kilometers) SW of VAW.
• Construction of a new terminal and upgrading the airport to regional standard started in 1984.
• 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 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.
• The airport is served by Widerøe with 39-seat Dash 8-100 aircraft connecting the community to Tromsø, Kirkenes and other communities in Finnmark.
• 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 first plans for a civilian airport at Svartnes was launched by Varangfly, later renamed Norving, in 1964.