Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (VAG), Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,517 miles (or 8,879 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 Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky 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 Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky 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):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France.
• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.

Facts about Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (VAG):

• In addition to being known as "Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport", another name for VAG is "Aeroporto Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky".
• Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (VAG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (VAG) is Brigadeiro Cabral Airport (DIQ), which is located 105 miles (169 kilometers) NNE of VAG.
• The furthest airport from Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (VAG) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport (meaning Major-Brigadeiro Trompowsky Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,077 miles (19,437 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.