Nonstop flight route between Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 656 miles (or 1,055 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC):

• This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say it had 36,035 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 42,130 in 2009 and 37,316 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of GUC.
• Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) has 2 runways.
• It is at 38°32′02″N 106°55′59″W / 38.53389°N 106.93306°W / 38.53389.
• The furthest airport from Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In the months after the September 11 attacks, Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport was one of several airports to have a temporary presence of National Guard.
• Because of Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

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.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• 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.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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 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.
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.
• With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.