Nonstop flight route between McGrath, Alaska, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McGrath Airport (MCG), McGrath, Alaska, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,002 miles (or 8,050 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 McGrath 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 McGrath 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 McGrath Airport (MCG):

• The closest airport to McGrath Airport (MCG) is Tatalina LRRS Airport (TLJ), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) WSW of MCG.
• In addition to being known as "McGrath Airport", another name for MCG is "(formerly McGrath Army Airbase)".
• The furthest airport from McGrath Airport (MCG) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,435 miles (16,793 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• The facility covers an area of 641 acres at an elevation of 341 feet above mean sea level.
• McGrath Airport (MCG) has 2 runways.
• Because of McGrath Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at McGrath 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.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• 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.