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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH), Ephrata, Washington, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,308 miles (or 8,542 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 Ephrata Municipal 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 Ephrata Municipal 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH):

• For the 12-month period ending June 28, 2010, the airport had 135,140 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 370 per day.
• In addition to being known as "Ephrata Municipal Airport", another name for EPH is "Ephrata Army Airfield".
• Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH) has 3 runways.
• Ephrata Municipal Airport covers an area of 2,300 acres at an elevation of 1,276 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,729 miles (17,266 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH) is Grant County International Airport (MWH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SE of EPH.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.