Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and CFB Edmonton (YED), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,801 miles (or 7,727 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 CFB Edmonton, 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 CFB Edmonton. 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 airfield was designated by the Americans as Istres/Le Tubé Airfield or Advanced Landing Ground 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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".

Facts about CFB Edmonton (YED):

• In addition to being known as "CFB Edmonton", other names for YED include "Edmonton/Namao Heliport Edmonton Garrison" and "Steele Barracks".
• During the Cold War RCAF Station Namao was used by the United States Strategic Air Command, which constructed a "Nose Dock" capable of servicing the nose and wings of heavy jet bombers and tankers on the south side of the airfield.
• Although both runways are still visible they are no longer in use except for a 45 m × 150 m section of 03/21 used by helicopters.
• The closest airport to CFB Edmonton (YED) is Edmonton International Airport (YEG), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) S of YED.
• On June 7, 2013, the base hosted the raising of a rainbow flag to kick off Edmonton Pride, the first time in Canadian history that the flag has flown on a military base.
• The furthest airport from CFB Edmonton (YED) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,216 miles (16,441 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.