Nonstop flight route between Ironwood, Michigan, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD), Ironwood, Michigan, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,002 miles (or 6,441 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 Gogebic-Iron County Airport 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 Gogebic-Iron County Airport 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 Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD):

• The furthest airport from Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,857 miles (17,473 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Frontier Express provided service to Rhinelander, continuing on to Milwaukee until March 8, 2012.
• Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has not had scheduled commercial airline service since January 31, 2014, when Great Lakes Airlines discontinued its service to Minneapolis/St.
• The closest airport to Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD) is John F. Kennedy Memorial Airport (ASX), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) W of IWD.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Denain Airport began as a pre-World War II airport in France, most likely with a grass runway and several support buildings and a hangar.
• 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)".