Nonstop flight route between Inyokern, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Inyokern Airport (IYK), Inyokern, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,891 miles (or 9,481 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 Inyokern Airport 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 Inyokern Airport 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 Inyokern Airport (IYK):

• In the wake of the drag strip's closing, the airport has been actively promoting its use for film shoots, with the Ridgecrest Regional Film Commission marketing it as "the region's #1 filming location".
• The furthest airport from Inyokern Airport (IYK) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,366 miles (18,291 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Inyokern Airport (IYK) has 3 runways.
• Inyokern Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of Inyokern, in Kern County, California, United States.
• The Inyokern Airport Dragstrip opened in 1954, and was the second oldest continuously operating dragstrip in the United States, behind Thornhill Dragstrip in Kenton, KY which opened in 1953.
• Presently Inyokern Airport is the home to Sierra Soaring Club, which operates a Cessna 182 for towing gliders, a Blanik L-23 for rides and instruction, and a Schweizer 1-35 and Standard Cirrus for wave flights and cross country soaring.
• The closest airport to Inyokern Airport (IYK) is Trona Airport (TRH), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of IYK.

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

• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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 (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"