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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS), Imperial Beach, California, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,660 miles (or 9,109 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 Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach 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 Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach 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 Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS):

• In 1917, the United States Army established Aviation Field on the current site of OLF Imperial Beach.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach", another name for NRS is "Ream Field".
• The furthest airport from Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,552 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) has 2 runways.
• Along with the halt of construction on base, the helicopter squadrons all were moved to NAS North Island.
• On January 1, 1968 NAAS Imperial Beach was raised to the status of a full Naval Air Station and renamed NAS Imperial Beach.
• The closest airport to Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) is Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of NRS.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
• 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.
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".