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):

• 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.
• 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".
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"

Facts about Reading Regional Airport (RDG):

• 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.
• On 1 June 1944 the 309th Air Base Squadron was re-designated the 85th Army Air Force Base Unit.
• In the 1950s Reading Air Services sponsored the National Maintenance & Operations Meeting, better known as the Reading Airshow, and later Reading Aerofest.
• Due to budgetary cutbacks the Reserve Training Center at Reading was inactivated on 1 May 1950 and reassigned to New Castle County Airport, Delaware.
• In addition to being known as "Reading Regional Airport", another name for RDG is "Carl A. Spaatz FieldReading Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Reading Regional Airport (RDG) is Heritage Field (PTW), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) ESE of RDG.
• Reading Regional Airport (RDG) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.