Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Redding, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield (RDD), Redding, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,767 miles (or 9,281 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 Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield, 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 Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield. 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".
• 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 is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• 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.
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield (RDD):

• The furthest airport from Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield (RDD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,201 miles (18,026 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield (RDD) has 2 runways.
• Redding Airport had scheduled jet service operated by four airlines over the years.
• The overall mission of Redding Army Airfield was advanced flight training of new airmen prior to their deployment overseas into the combat zones of the Pacific, China, Mediterranean or European Theaters.
• The closest airport to Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield (RDD) is Red Bluff Municipal Airport (RBL), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) S of RDD.
• Because of Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 505 feet, planes can take off or land at Redding Municipal AirportRedding Army Airfield 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 July 17, 2008 President George Bush and staff landed at Redding in Air Force One.