Nonstop flight route between Mineral Wells, Texas, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mineral Wells Airport (MWL), Mineral Wells, Texas, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,973 miles (or 8,003 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 Mineral Wells 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 Mineral Wells 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 Mineral Wells Airport (MWL):

• The closest airport to Mineral Wells Airport (MWL) is Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) E of MWL.
• In addition to being known as "Mineral Wells Airport", other names for MWL include "(former Wolters Air Force Base)" and "(former Wolters Army Airfield)".
• In 1975 orders deactivating the base were issued.
• Local businessmen purchased the land and facilities and converted them to private use.
• Mineral Wells Airport (MWL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Mineral Wells Airport (MWL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,980 miles (17,670 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Mineral Wells Airport's relatively low elevation of 974 feet, planes can take off or land at Mineral Wells 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 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.
• 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.
• After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• It is known that Denain was used by the Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.