Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Winfield/Arkansas City, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Strother Field (WLD), Winfield/Arkansas City, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,028 miles (or 8,092 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 Strother Field, 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 Strother Field. 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".
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 31 March 1992, a Boeing 707 of Kabo Air, a Nigerian company, made an emergency landing at Istres after engines 3 and 4 had separated from the wing in turbulence at 35,000 feet.

Facts about Strother Field (WLD):

• The airport is named for Donald Root Strother, the first Army Air Corp pilot from Cowley County, Kansas to lose his life in World War II.
• For the 12-month period ending November 19, 2008, the airport had 6,500 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 17 per day.
• In addition to being known as "Strother Field", another name for WLD is "(formerly Strother Army Airfield)".
• An airport, jointly owned by Arkansas City and Winfield, was under construction in April 1942 when the United States Army Air Forces indicated a need for the airfield as a training airfield by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center.
• The furthest airport from Strother Field (WLD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,751 miles (17,302 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Strother Field (WLD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Strother Field (WLD) is Earl Henry Airport (BWL), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of WLD.