Nonstop flight route between Topeka, Kansas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Forbes Field (FOE), Topeka, Kansas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,165 miles (or 6,702 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 Forbes Field 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 Forbes Field 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 Forbes Field (FOE):

• In 1925, the right field grandstand was extended into the corner and into fair territory, reducing the foul line distance from 376 feet to 300 feet.
• The furthest airport from Forbes Field (FOE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,496 miles (18,501 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1903, Pittsburgh Pirates' owner Barney Dreyfuss began to look for ground to build a larger capacity replacement for the team's then-current home, Exposition Park.
• In addition to being known as "Forbes Field", another name for FOE is ""The House of Thrills""The Old Lady of Schenley Park""The Orchard of Oakland" [1]".
• Some remnants of the ballpark still stand, surrounded by the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
• The batting cage was placed just to the left of the 457-foot center field "Death Valley" marker during games, because it was believed impossible to hit the ball that far.
• The portion of the left field wall over which Bill Mazeroski hit his walk-off home run to end the 1960 World Series, between the scoreboard and the "406 FT" sign, no longer stands at its original location.
• The field itself consisted of natural grass grown in Crestline, Ohio.
• The closest airport to Forbes Field (FOE) is Allegheny County Airport (AGC), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SSE of FOE.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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".
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.