Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Corpus Christi, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NGP), Corpus Christi, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,486 miles (or 8,829 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 Corpus Christi, 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 Corpus Christi. 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 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.

Facts about Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NGP):

• In addition to Navy students, VT-31 and 35 train pilots from the Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Corpus Christi", another name for NGP is "Truax Field".
• NAS Corpus Christi is also home to the Corpus Christi Army Depot, the largest helicopter repair facility in the world.
• The closest airport to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NGP) is Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of NGP.
• Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NGP) has 4 runways.
• Today, the training program is much longer, approximately 18 months, due to the increased complexity of today's aircraft.
• Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, also known as Truax Field, is a naval base located six miles southeast of the central business district of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas, USA.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NGP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,098 miles (17,861 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.