Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and College Station, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Easterwood Airport (CLL), College Station, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,307 miles (or 8,542 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 Easterwood 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 Easterwood 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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".
• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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.

Facts about Easterwood Airport (CLL):

• Because of Easterwood Airport's relatively low elevation of 321 feet, planes can take off or land at Easterwood 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.
• The closest airport to Easterwood Airport (CLL) is Coulter Field (CFD), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNE of CLL.
• The facility in 1940 had one hangar and a turf landing strip and taxiway which were eventually paved through funding provided by the CAA, the Works Projects Administration, and Texas A&M.
• Easterwood Airport (CLL) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Easterwood Airport (CLL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The airline ticket counters, TSA security checkpoint, and boarding areas are located on the upper level of the terminal.
• In 1988 work began on improvements to the Airport access road and construction of a new passenger terminal began.