Nonstop flight route between Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB), Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,275 miles (or 6,880 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 Seymour Johnson Air Force Base 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 Seymour Johnson Air Force Base 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 Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB):

• As the war in Southeast Asia heated up in the late summer of 1964, the 4th TFW was alerted for deployment to the Far East.
• With its operational training mission ended, in September 1945 and the field became an Army-Air Force Separation Center under the 123d AAF Base Unit.
• The furthest airport from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,689 miles (18,811 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 4th Fighter Wing with these operational squadrons have, under various designations, remained at Seymour Johnson AFB for nearly 50 years.
• At the end of World War II in Europe, Seymour Johnson was designated as a central assembly station for processing and training troops being reassigned in the continental United States and Pacific theater of operations.
• In addition to being known as "Seymour Johnson Air Force Base", another name for GSB is "Seymour Johnson AFB".
• The closest airport to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (GSB) is Kinston Regional Jetport (ISO), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of GSB.
• The United States Air Force Reserve's 916th Air Refueling Wing supports routine refueling missions for other Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied aircraft under the direction of the 4th Air Force and Headquarters, Air Force Reserve Command.
• Interestingly, the namesake of the base, Seymour Johnson, was never part of the Air Force.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.