Nonstop flight route between Mason City, Iowa, United States and Chartres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW), Mason City, Iowa, United States and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,277 miles (or 6,883 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 Mason City Municipal Airport and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome, 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 Mason City Municipal Airport and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome. 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 Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW):

• Great Lakes Airlines previously served the airport without funding from the EAS program and the airline flew direct to Chicago O'Hare up until October 28, 1998.
• The closest airport to Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) is Forest City Municipal Airport (FXY), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) WNW of MCW.
• Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,784 miles (17,354 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, following a concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.

Facts about Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• From March 1915 to the end of World War I, an important military training center for pilots was setted up .
• The French Air Force closed the military air base in 1997.
• Because of Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 509 feet, planes can take off or land at Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome 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 furthest airport from Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (meaning Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• Just prior to the D-Day landings in Normandy, additional attacks were made on the airfield by B-26 Marauder medium bombers of the IX Bomber Command 322d Bombardment Group during May 1944.
• The facility was a military field, prior to 1870, dedicated to cavalry.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• In addition to being known as "Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome", other names for QTJ include "Aérodrome de Chartres - Champhol" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-40".