Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Fort Worth, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH), Fort Worth, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,251 miles (or 8,450 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, 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 Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground Y-17.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.

Facts about Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH):

• Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, is located in the northeast corner of NAS Fort Worth JRB.
• Several United States Navy headquarters and operational units are based at NAS Fort Worth JRB, including aviation squadrons, intelligence commands and Seabees.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base", another name for FWH is "Carswell Field".
• The recent decision to join the Brady and Brownwood MOAs will provide additional maneuver airspace for AIC/ACM training.
• With the end of the Cold War, the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Carswell AFB be closed by 1994.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (FWH) is Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of FWH.
• On September 20, 2009, the airport was used as a refueling stop for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft piggybacking the Space Shuttle Discovery back to the Kennedy Space Center from Amarillo after STS-128.