Nonstop flight route between St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 952 miles (or 1,532 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 relatively short distance between RAF Leuchars and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• Leuchars remained an active Station to the end of the War, concentrating on anti-submarine and anti-shipping strikes.
• Aviation at Leuchars dates back to 1911 with a balloon squadron of the Royal Engineers setting up a training camp in Tentsmuir Forest.
• As the Cold War reached its frostiest depths in the 1960s the development of long range aircraft allowed the Soviets regular incursion into British air space.
• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• Leuchars is also the base for No.
• Approximately 45,000 people attended the 2010 show to see displays including the Red Arrows, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Royal Air Force station Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is the second most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom.

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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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".
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• The main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
• 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.