Nonstop flight route between Hemet, California, United States and Valence, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT), Hemet, California, United States and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,901 miles (or 9,497 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 Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field and Valence - Chabeuil 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 Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field and Valence - Chabeuil 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 Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT):

• The airfield was opened in September 1940 by the United States Army Air Corps.
• Construction of the new facility was set to begin in 2008, however, as of 2010, Cal Fire is still waiting for the promised state funds to become available.
• Because of critical need, the strategic location of the base and proven performance and handling of large wildfires, Cal Fire and the state consider the project top priority in the list of firefighting capital improvements.
• The furthest airport from Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,471 miles (18,460 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1992 Cal Fire acquired several of the larger Bell UH-1H helicopters with Hemet-Ryan Helitack receiving one of the first buildups.
• Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) has 2 runways.
• For over 50 years, Hemet-Ryan was a popular site for operating sailplanes.
• The closest airport to Hemet-Ryan AirportRyan Field (HMT) is Banning Municipal Airport (BNG), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of HMT.

Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
• After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
• Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.