Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Laurel, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), Laurel, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,940 miles (or 7,950 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 Hesler-Noble Field, 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 Hesler-Noble Field. 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):

• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Hesler-Noble Field (LUL):

• Because of Hesler-Noble Field's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Hesler-Noble Field 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.
• In addition to being known as "Hesler-Noble Field", another name for LUL is "(former Laurel Army Airfield)".
• Hesler-Noble Field covers 1,350 acres at an elevation of 238 feet.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.
• The closest airport to Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of LUL.
• Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Initially, the mission of the new Air Force field was to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, with the 69th Observation Group flying the from November 1942 until March 1943.