Nonstop flight route between San Angelo, Texas, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF), San Angelo, Texas, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,133 miles (or 8,260 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 Goodfellow Air Force Base and Valenciennes-Denain Airport, 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 Goodfellow Air Force Base and Valenciennes-Denain Airport. 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 Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF):

• It was a new mission now, and a look into the future.
• The furthest airport from Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,146 miles (17,937 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Goodfellow Air Force Base (GOF) is San Angelo Regional Airport (SJT), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of GOF.
• On 1 July 1993, the 17th Training Wing was activated on Goodfellow AFB.
• During the next three years, intelligence training consolidation brought to Goodfellow advanced imagery training from Offutt AFB, Nebraska.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• Denain Airport was cleared of German forces by Allied ground forces about 11 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.
• Because of Valenciennes-Denain Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Valenciennes-Denain 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.
• C-47 Skytrain transports moved in and out of the American controlled airfield almost immediately after the runway was repaired, supplying the front line forces with the necessary materiel to support their advance.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• The furthest airport from Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,987 miles (19,291 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.