Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Allegheny County Airport (AGC), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,167 miles (or 6,706 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Allegheny County 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Allegheny County 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 Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.

Facts about Allegheny County Airport (AGC):

• The main terminal was built on a former steel industry slag dump in 1931 by Stanley L.
• The furthest airport from Allegheny County Airport (AGC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,499 miles (18,506 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Allegheny County Airport (AGC) has 2 runways.
• Harold Gatty and Wiley Post visited the airport as it was finishing construction both from the ground and air and commented that it was the finest airport they had encountered.
• The Allegheny County Airport Authority has received $2 million from the federal stimulus bill for construction at the Allegheny County airport.
• The airport has a small station currently operated by the Allegheny County Police Department as a local station and a base for airport security operations.
• The closest airport to Allegheny County Airport (AGC) is Forbes Field (FOE), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNW of AGC.