Nonstop flight route between Rockland, Maine, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RKD to QIE:
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- About this route
- RKD Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about RKD
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to RKD
- List of Nearest Airports to RKD
- Map of Furthest Airports from RKD
- List of Furthest Airports from RKD
- 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 Knox County Regional Airport (RKD), Rockland, Maine, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,560 miles (or 5,729 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 Knox County Regional Airport 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 Knox County Regional Airport 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: | RKD / KRKD |
Airport Name: | Knox County Regional Airport |
Location: | Rockland, Maine, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°3'36"N by 69°5'57"W |
Area Served: | Rockland, Maine |
Operator/Owner: | Knox County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 56 feet (17 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RKD |
More Information: | RKD 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 Knox County Regional Airport (RKD):
- Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) has 2 runways.
- Owls Head Transportation Museum is also situated at the airport on an older third runway.
- The airport was built during World War II and became locally known as the "Ash Point Naval Air Station" while officially operating as Rockland Naval Auxiliary Air Facility from April 15, 1943 until February 1, 1946.
- The furthest airport from Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,708 miles (18,842 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Knox County Regional Airport (RKD) is Wiscasset Airport (ISS), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) WSW of RKD.
- Because of Knox County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Knox County Regional 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.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
- Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.