Nonstop flight route between Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FBG to QIE:
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- About this route
- FBG Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about FBG
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to FBG
- List of Nearest Airports to FBG
- Map of Furthest Airports from FBG
- List of Furthest Airports from FBG
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,328 miles (or 6,966 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 Simmons Army Airfield and Istres-Le Tubé Air 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 Simmons Army Airfield and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FBG / KFBG |
Airport Name: | Simmons Army Airfield |
Location: | Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°7'54"N by 78°56'11"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 244 feet (74 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FBG |
More Information: | FBG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Simmons Army Airfield (FBG):
- During July 1965 the 116th Assault Helicopter Company formed at Simmons and trained for duty in Vietnam.
- The closest airport to Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Pope Field (POB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WNW of FBG.
- In the early 1980s there were 22 operating activities with total personnel strength of 2,134 and 298 assigned aircraft.
- On May 1953 Fort Bragg engineers completed final plans for an expanded field and started construction the next summer.
- Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) currently has only 1 runway.
- The 18th Aviation Brigade activated at Fort Bragg on July 1, 1966, formed from the 269th Aviation Battalion.
- The furthest airport from Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,634 miles (18,723 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Simmons Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 244 feet, planes can take off or land at Simmons Army Airfield 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.
- As part of Exercise Test Drop in August 1952, the 406th Engineer Brigade constructed an airfield in the vicinity of Smith Lake on land acquired by Fort Bragg.
- Construction in 1956-1957 converted the field to a permanent army airfield, allowing transfer of air activities from overcrowded Pope Air Force Base to Simmons AAF.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.
- Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
- With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
- Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base 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.
- On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
- The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".