Nonstop flight route between Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NUW to QIE:
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- About this route
- NUW Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about NUW
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to NUW
- List of Nearest Airports to NUW
- Map of Furthest Airports from NUW
- List of Furthest Airports from NUW
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,338 miles (or 8,590 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 NAS Whidbey Island 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 NAS Whidbey Island 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NUW / KNUW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Oak Harbor, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 48°21'6"N by 122°39'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 47 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from NUW |
More Information: | NUW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):
- At Ault Field, the earliest squadrons of aircraft were F4F Wildcats, which came aboard in 1942, followed by F6F Hellcats.
- Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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 closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.
- In early 1965, patrol squadrons began to leave NAS Whidbey.
- The other section of the air station is known as the Seaplane Base.
- NASWI currently supports MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, EA-18G Growler, EA-6B Prowler, P-3C Orion, EP-3E ARIES II and C-9 Skytrain aircraft.
- NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
- The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.