Nonstop flight route between Bourges, France and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bourges Airport (BOU), Bourges, France and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 274 miles (or 442 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 Bourges Airport 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 Bourges Airport (BOU):

• The furthest airport from Bourges Airport (BOU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bourges Airport (meaning Bourges Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,205 miles (19,642 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Bourges Airport", another name for BOU is "Aéroport de Bourges".
• Bourges Airport (BOU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Bourges Airport (BOU) is Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport (CHR), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of BOU.
• Because of Bourges Airport's relatively low elevation of 529 feet, planes can take off or land at Bourges 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 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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 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.