Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Reading, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Reading Regional Airport (RDG), Reading, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,991 miles (or 6,423 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 Reading Regional 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 Reading Regional 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):

• Base aérienne 125 Istres Advanced Landing Ground Y-17
• 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".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Reading Regional Airport (RDG):

• Since the 1950s the airport has been home to the Reading Composite Squadron of the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Reading Regional Airport", another name for RDG is "Carl A. Spaatz FieldReading Army Airfield".
• Aircraft used for training were the Curtiss O-52 Owl.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 2,268 passenger boardings in calendar year 2006, 2,445 in 2005 and 9,288 in 2004.
• Because of Reading Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 344 feet, planes can take off or land at Reading Regional 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.
• Reading Regional Airport (RDG) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Reading Regional Airport (RDG) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,683 miles (18,802 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Reading Regional Airport (RDG) is Heritage Field (PTW), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) ESE of RDG.
• Southwest Airlines no longer operates in Reading Airport.