Nonstop flight route between Chartres, France and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,318 miles (or 6,950 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome and Minot Air Force Base, 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome and Minot Air Force Base. 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• Once declared operationally ready, the airfield had a concrete runway 5500' long aligned 08/26, with much Pierced Steel Planking used to repair the damage caused by the frequent Allied bombing.
• The furthest airport from Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (meaning Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airfield was first attacked by the German Luftwaffe on 3 June by a formation of 15 twin engine Dornier Do-17 light bombers.
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.
• The Chartres area was heavily attacked on several missions by United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force bombers in 1943 and 1944 and the airport was singularly attacked on 15 September 1943 by 22 B-24 Liberators of the 44th Bombardment Group.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• The French Air Force closed the military air base in 1997.
• Because of Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 509 feet, planes can take off or land at Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome 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 "Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome", other names for QTJ include "Aérodrome de Chartres - Champhol" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-40".

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• replaced by the 5th Bombardment Wing
• The 810th Strategic Aerospace Division was inactivated 30 June 1971.
• The 5th Bomb Wing is an element of the Global Strike Command and is the host unit at Minot AFB.
• The ADC 32d Fighter Group was the first operational unit at Minot, with its 433d Fighter-Interceptor squadron.
• The 4th Post Attack Command & Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, SD maintained several EC-135 "Looking Glass" Aircraft on an alert at MAFB for coverage of the missile squadrons as a secondary Launch Control Center.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• Additionally on 12 July 2008, three Air Force officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic component that contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, a violation of procedure, Air Force officials said.