Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Chamonate Airfield (CPO), Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,826 miles (or 10,986 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 Chamonate Airfield, 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 Chamonate Airfield. 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):

• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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".
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"

Facts about Chamonate Airfield (CPO):

• Because of Chamonate Airfield's relatively low elevation of 954 feet, planes can take off or land at Chamonate 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.
• The closest airport to Chamonate Airfield (CPO) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) N of CPO.
• Chamonate Airfield (CPO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Chamonate Airfield", other names for CPO include "Chamonate Airfield (Copiapó)" and "Aeródromo Chamonate".
• The furthest airport from Chamonate Airfield (CPO) is Zhijiang Airport (HJJ), which is nearly antipodal to Chamonate Airfield (meaning Chamonate Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zhijiang Airport), and is located 12,425 miles (19,995 kilometers) away in Zhijiang, Hubei, China.