Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GFA to XSD:
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- About this route
- GFA Airport Information
- XSD Airport Information
- Facts about GFA
- Facts about XSD
- 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 XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 728 miles (or 1,172 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 Tonopah Test Range 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: | XSD / KTNX |
Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- 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".
- Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union increased dramatically when the Soviet Union closed all land travel between the western occupation sectors of Germany and the American, French and British sectors of Berlin.
- 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.
- Malmstrom AFB is one of three US Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- The assets of the squadron could not go to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, and the fate of them remains in some cases, still classified.
- The advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March of 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG-17 and the supersonic MiG-21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force being pitted against U.S.
- In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re-designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg.
- The furthest airport from Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In 2003, after the seizure of the Iraqi Air Force Al-Taqaddum Air Base, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S.