Nonstop flight route between Peoria, Illinois, United States and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), Peoria, Illinois, United States and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,162 miles (or 1,870 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA):

• The furthest airport from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,003 miles (17,707 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On May 19, 1932 the citizens of Peoria voted to have an airport.
• The closest airport to General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) is Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ESE of PIA.
• Because of General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport's relatively low elevation of 661 feet, planes can take off or land at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International 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.
• General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) has 2 runways.
• General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport handled 592,101 passengers last year.
• This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• The 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the phaseout of the B-36 from the inventory in the late 1950s, the need for fighter escorts of SAC bombers was eliminated.
• 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.