Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Oscoda, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (OSC), Oscoda, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,158 miles (or 6,691 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 Oscoda-Wurtsmith 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 Oscoda-Wurtsmith 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):

• 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".
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.

Facts about Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (OSC):

• Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport covers an area of 2,000 acres at an elevation of 634 feet above mean sea level.
• For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 8,857 aircraft operations, an average of 24 per day, all of which were general aviation.
• The closest airport to Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (OSC) is Alpena County Regional Airport (APN), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) N of OSC.
• Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (OSC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (OSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,213 miles (18,046 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport's relatively low elevation of 634 feet, planes can take off or land at Oscoda-Wurtsmith 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.
• It was built out of a portion of the decommissioned Wurtsmith Air Force Base which housed nuclear armed B-52 Stratofortress bombers during the Cold War as well as several air refueling squadrons.