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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Chico Municipal Airport (CIC), Chico, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,794 miles (or 9,324 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 Chico Municipal 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 Chico Municipal 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 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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".

Facts about Chico Municipal Airport (CIC):

• An all black company was assigned to the Field in August 1942.
• In April 1944 the mission of the Field was changed from basic flying training of cadets to training of fighter pilots.
• Chico is now only served by SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express with Embraer EMB-120 turboprops nonstop to San Francisco.
• Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) has 2 runways.
• Airlines that served Chico in the past were American Airlines regional affiliate American Eagle, Hughes Airwest, Pacific Express, Reno Air Express and WestAir operating as United Express.
• Because of Chico Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 73 feet, planes can take off or land at Chico Municipal 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.
• In addition to being known as "Chico Municipal Airport", another name for CIC is "Chico Army Airfield".
• The Chico missile complex had two accidents in 1962.
• The furthest airport from Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) is Oroville Municipal Airport (OVE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSE of CIC.