Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and CFB Greenwood (YZX), Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,347 miles (or 5,386 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 Greenwood, 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 Greenwood. 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):

• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about CFB Greenwood (YZX):

• The first CP-107 Argus arrived at RCAF Station Greenwood on May 1, 1958.
• The closest airport to CFB Greenwood (YZX) is Digby/Annapolis Regional Airport (YDG), which is located 52 miles (84 kilometers) SW of YZX.
• CFB Greenwood (YZX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to the BCATP program, RAF Station Greenwood was involved in combat operations through maritime reconnaissance to counter U-boat activity in the western Atlantic.
• Because of CFB Greenwood's relatively low elevation of 92 feet, planes can take off or land at CFB Greenwood 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.
• In addition to being known as "CFB Greenwood", another name for YZX is "Greenwood Airport".
• Further defence cuts and reorganization in 1995 saw the 434 Squadron move from CFB Shearwater to Greenwood, bringing its Canadair CE/CT-33 Silver Star and Canadair CC/CP/CE-144 Challenger combat support aircraft to the base.
• The furthest airport from CFB Greenwood (YZX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,728 miles (18,875 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• The base was experiencing a crowding problem, thus the 2 OTU was moved to RCAF Station Summerside in Prince Edward Island effective November 14, 1953.
• By the end of 1942, the BCATP program was changing across Canada in light of Allied successes in Europe.
• Between the fall of 1945 and March 31, 1946, RCAF Station Greenwood maintained a nominal training complement of personnel and aircraft.