Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS North Island (NZY), San Diego, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,031 miles (or 9,706 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 North 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 North 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NAS North Island (NZY):

• North Island derived its name from the original geography.
• In addition to being known as "NAS North Island", another name for NZY is "Halsey Field".
• In 1914, then-unknown aircraft builder Glenn Martin took off and demonstrated his pusher aircraft over the island with a flight that included the first parachute jump in the San Diego area.
• The furthest airport from NAS North Island (NZY) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,542 miles (18,575 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• With all the ships in port, the population of the station is nearly 35,000 active duty military, selected reserve military, and civilian personnel.
• NAS North Island (NZY) has 2 runways.
• Because of NAS North Island's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS North 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 North Island (NZY) is San Diego International Airport (SAN), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of NZY.
• The list of American military pilots trained at North Island reads like the Who's Who of aviation.

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

• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17