Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Great Falls, Montana, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to GFA:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- GFA Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about GFA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFA
- List of Nearest Airports to GFA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFA
- List of Furthest Airports from GFA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,417 miles (or 7,109 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 RAF Fairford 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 RAF Fairford 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFA / KGFA |
Airport Names: |
|
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 |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):
- On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.
- 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
- DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
- 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 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.
- Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.