Nonstop flight route between Paso Robles, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB), Paso Robles, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,985 miles (or 9,632 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 Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield 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 Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield 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 Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB):

• The closest airport to Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB) is Roberts Army Heliport (SYL), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of PRB.
• Because of Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 836 feet, planes can take off or land at Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield 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.
• On September 3, 1942 construction began on the Airfield, to be used as a Marine Corps Bomber Base.
• After the county's acquisition of the airfield, the County of San Luis Obispo extended runway 01/19 from 4,700 feet to 6,009 feet.
• Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Paso Robles Municipal AirportEstrella Army Airfield (PRB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,417 miles (18,374 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

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

• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
• 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.
• 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 is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• 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.