Nonstop flight route between Point Mugu, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Point Mugu (NTD), Point Mugu, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,020 miles (or 9,688 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 Station Point Mugu 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 Naval Air Station Point Mugu 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 Naval Air Station Point Mugu (NTD):

• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Point Mugu (NTD) is Oxnard Airport (OXR), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NW of NTD.
• Because of Naval Air Station Point Mugu's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Point Mugu 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.
• Naval Air Station Point Mugu (NTD) has 2 runways.
• The facility in Point Mugu, California, started as a United States Navy anti-aircraft training center during World War II and was developed in the late 1940s as the Navy's major missile development and test facility.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Point Mugu (NTD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,492 miles (18,495 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Point Mugu", another name for NTD is "Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC)".
• Point Mugu was the airfield used by former President Ronald Reagan during his presidency on visits to his Santa Barbara ranch.
• At Point Mugu, NBVC operates two runways and encompasses a 36,000 square mile sea test range, anchored by San Nicolas Island.

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

• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".