Nonstop flight route between Homestead, Florida, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), Homestead, Florida, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,804 miles (or 7,732 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 Homestead Air Reserve 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 Homestead Air Reserve 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST):

• Within a year, the 19th Bomb Wing was transferred to Homestead on 1 June 1956 from Pinecastle AFB, Florida.
• The mission of the 482nd Fighter Wing is to train and equip Air Force Reservists to respond to wartime and peacetime taskings as directed by higher headquarters.
• The closest airport to Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of HST.
• On 1 November 1955, the now-Homestead AFB was upgraded to a group level facility with the activation of the 379th Air Base Group which managed a major construction and rehabilitation program through 1957.
• Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Army Air Forces officials decided the site would better serve defense needs as a maintenance stopover point for aircraft being ferried to the Caribbean and North Africa.
• The furthest airport from Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,568 miles (18,616 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Homestead Air Reserve Base", another name for HST is "Homestead ARB".

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

• 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.
• 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.