Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GFA to VPS:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- VPS Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about VPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to VPS
- List of Nearest Airports to VPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VPS
- List of Furthest Airports from VPS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,757 miles (or 2,828 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Great Falls, Montana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°30'16"N by 111°11'13"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from GFA |
| More Information: | GFA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VPS / KVPS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°28'59"N by 86°31'31"W |
| Area Served: | Fort Walton Beach, Destin |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 87 feet (27 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VPS |
| More Information: | VPS Maps & Info |
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club and Rainbow Dam Road approximately six miles east of Great Falls.
- Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
- In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- 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 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.
- 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 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.
- On 18 December 1953, Great Falls AFB was transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Strategic Air Command, although MATS units remained at the base for several years.
Facts about Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):
- The furthest airport from Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,174 miles (17,983 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
- The closest airport to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (DSI), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of VPS.
- Because of Northwest Florida Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 87 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida Regional 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.
