Nonstop flight route between La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Palma Airport (SPC), La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,938 miles (or 7,947 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 La Palma Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base, 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 La Palma Airport and Malmstrom Air Force Base. 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 La Palma Airport (SPC):

• La Palma Airport (SPC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of La Palma Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at La Palma 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.
• The furthest airport from La Palma Airport (SPC) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to La Palma Airport (meaning La Palma Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,161 miles (19,570 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to La Palma Airport (SPC) is La Gomera Airport (GMZ), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) SE of SPC.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• 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.
• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 base's runway was closed on 31 December 1996 for aircraft operations.