Nonstop flight route between El Centro, California, United States and Chartres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), El Centro, California, United States and Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,618 miles (or 9,041 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro 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 Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK):

• Much of the movie "Jarhead" was filmed around El Centro and many of the extras from the movie were from NAF El Centro.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,532 miles (18,558 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The addition of the Display and Debriefing Subsystem, known as DDS, expanded the role of NAF El Centro to include air combat training by utilizing remote television, acoustical and laser scoring systems.
• Naval Air Facility El Centro or NAF El Centro is a military airport located six miles northwest of El Centro, in Imperial County, California, USA.
• For the first 35 years, the mission of NAF El Centro was devoted to aeronautical escape system testing, evaluation, and design.
• Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK) is Imperial County Airport (IPL), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) E of NJK.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Facility El Centro", another name for NJK is "KNJK - FAA: NJK".
• The facility was commissioned on May 1, 1946, as a Naval Air Station.

Facts about Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• After the Battle of France, Chartres was used as a Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation.
• 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.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• It was reinforced by the Armée de l'Air as a military airfield after the Invasion of Poland in September 1939.
• World War II had almost totally destroyed Champhol Airport.
• 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.
• What appears to be hangars are on the north side of the airport, about 200m north of the runway, and unconnected with the current airport were probably part of the former military airfield.
• The facility was a military field, prior to 1870, dedicated to cavalry.
• Under American control, Chartres initially became the home of the 368th Fighter Group, which flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the field starting on 23 August, remaining until 11 September.
• 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".