Nonstop flight route between Winter Haven, Florida, United States and Chartres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF), Winter Haven, Florida, United States and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,500 miles (or 7,242 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF):

• In addition to being known as "Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport", another name for GIF is "Winter Haven Municipal Airport".
• Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) has 2 runways.
• For the 12-month period ending November 17, 2009, the airport had 60,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 164 per day.
• Because of Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport's relatively low elevation of 145 feet, planes can take off or land at Winter Haven's Gilbert 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.
• The closest airport to Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) is Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) SSW of GIF.
• The furthest airport from Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,482 miles (18,478 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II, Gilbert Field was an auxiliary airfield for the Lakeland School of Aeronautics at the Lakeland Lodwick Field airport.

Facts about Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• Chartres – Champhol Aerodrome is an airport serving Chartres and Champhol, in the Eure-et-Loir department in north-central France.
• The field was replaced by a totally new civilian facility which is much smaller than the prewar airport.
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• In 1923, the "22e Régiment Aérien de bombardement de nuit" landed in Chartres in 1936.
• The Chartres area was heavily attacked on several missions by United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force bombers in 1943 and 1944 and the airport was singularly attacked on 15 September 1943 by 22 B-24 Liberators of the 44th Bombardment Group.
• 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".
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• Once declared operationally ready, the airfield had a concrete runway 5500' long aligned 08/26, with much Pierced Steel Planking used to repair the damage caused by the frequent Allied bombing.
• 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.
• 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.