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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS North Island (NZY), San Diego, California, United States and Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,965 miles (or 9,599 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 Valence - Chabeuil 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 NAS North Island and Valence - Chabeuil 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 NAS North Island (NZY):

• Even the base's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Earl W.
• 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 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.
• The Navy's first aviator, Lieutenant Theodore Ellyson, and many of his colleagues were trained at North Island starting as early as 1911.
• NAS North Island (NZY) has 2 runways.
• North Island was commissioned a Naval Air Station in 1917, called Naval Air Station San Diego until 1955.
• The list of American military pilots trained at North Island reads like the Who's Who of aviation.
• In addition to being known as "NAS North Island", another name for NZY is "Halsey Field".
• 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.

Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):

• Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
• Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
• Today the airport is a modern, fully equipped facility with two additional parallel grass runways available for use.
• The Portez was a heavy twin-engined fighter.
• The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
• The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
• In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.