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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Inyokern Airport (IYK), Inyokern, California, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,505 miles (or 8,859 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 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 Inyokern 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 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 closest airport to Inyokern Airport (IYK) is Trona Airport (TRH), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of IYK.
• Inyokern Airport (IYK) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• It is known that Denain was used by the Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74".
• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition, a reconnaissance unit, Aufklärungsgruppe 12 was assigned to Denain in October 1940 with Henschel Hs 126 twin-seat light observation planes.
• The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• 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.
• 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.