Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL), Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,183 miles (or 8,342 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 Fort Collins-Loveland 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 Fort Collins-Loveland 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 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".
• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.

Facts about Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL):

• The airport was served by Allegiant Air until October 2012.
• Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL) is Greeley-Weld County Airport (GXY), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of FNL.
• FNL is jointly owned and operated by the two cities of Loveland and Fort Collins.
• The airport is situated west of Interstate 25 and Denver is located about 55 miles south.
• The furthest airport from Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,850 miles (17,462 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Fort Collins–Loveland Municipal Airport covers an area of 1,065 acres at an elevation of 5,016 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport's high elevation of 5,016 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at FNL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make FNL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 31,094 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 31,079 enplanements in 2009, and 35,671 in 2010.