Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Everett, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Paine Field (PAE), Everett, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,352 miles (or 8,614 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Paine Field, 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Paine Field. 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"

Facts about Paine Field (PAE):

• The closest airport to Paine Field (PAE) is Kenmore Air (KEH), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) S of PAE.
• In 2008 two airlines, Allegiant Air and Horizon Air, expressed interest in establishing passenger flights to Paine Field to the airport authority.
• Paine Field (PAE) has 3 runways.
• On July 25, 1966, Boeing announced that it would build the Boeing 747, a jet airliner capable of carrying nearly twice as many passengers as previous models.
• The furthest airport from Paine Field (PAE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,751 miles (17,302 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The FAA in June 2008, in receipt of correspondence between Allegiant Air and Snohomish County and county executives, wrote the airport authority to reiterate that a recipient of federal FAA grants requires the County to not discriminate against commercial aeronautical activities offering services to the public, or risk an enforcement action under FAR 16.
• Because of Paine Field's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Paine Field 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.
• In addition to being known as "Paine Field", another name for PAE is "Snohomish County Airport".
• The airport has 456 general aviation hangars, of which 326 are leased by the County, and 130 are "condominium" hangars.