Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Bullhead City, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP), Bullhead City, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,804 miles (or 9,340 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 Laughlin/Bullhead International 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 Laughlin/Bullhead International 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):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP):

• The furthest airport from Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,365 miles (18,291 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1941 land was purchased from the State of Arizona for construction of Davis Dam power plant that was initiated by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1942.
• The closest airport to Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP) is Needles AirportNeedles Army Airfield (EED), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) S of IFP.
• In 2008 the airport got a multi-million-dollar expansion and a heightened security system.
• Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (IFP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In March 2010 the airport hosted "Legends Over the Colorado", an air show with additional displays of an original B-17 from World War II.
• Because of Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport's relatively low elevation of 701 feet, planes can take off or land at Laughlin/Bullhead International 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.
• On April 9–10, 2011, Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport held the second annual "Legends Over The Colorado".