Nonstop flight route between Watertown, South Dakota, United States and Chartres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Watertown Regional Airport (ATY), Watertown, South Dakota, United States and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,337 miles (or 6,979 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 Watertown Regional Airport and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome, 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 Watertown Regional Airport and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome. 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 Watertown Regional Airport (ATY):

• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,975 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 5,824 in 2009 and 7,814 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,571 miles (17,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SSE of ATY.
• Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Watertown Regional Airport", another name for ATY is "Watertown Army Airfield".

Facts about Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• The first plane in the world took off on October, the 9th, 1890, in France, due to the engineer Clément Ader.
• Because of Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 509 feet, planes can take off or land at Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome 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.
• What appears to be hangars are on the north side of the airport, about 200m north of the runway, and unconnected with the current airport were probably part of the former military airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome", other names for QTJ include "Aérodrome de Chartres - Champhol" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-40".
• The furthest airport from Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (meaning Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• The airfield was first attacked by the German Luftwaffe on 3 June by a formation of 15 twin engine Dornier Do-17 light bombers.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• Under American control, Chartres initially became the home of the 368th Fighter Group, which flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the field starting on 23 August, remaining until 11 September.