Nonstop flight route between Chartres, France and Pierre, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), Chartres, France and Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,474 miles (or 7,200 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 Pierre Regional 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome and Pierre Regional 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 Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ):

• World War II had almost totally destroyed Champhol Airport.
• 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".
• In 1923, the "22e Régiment Aérien de bombardement de nuit" landed in Chartres in 1936.
• The closest airport to Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NE of QTJ.
• A this time, the airfield was opened to civil planes, as well.
• 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.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• This Base was very active, mainly with flying Squadrons specialised in tactical transport, such as the 61e Escadre de Transport.
• 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.
• Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ) has 2 runways.

Facts about Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
• Until June 30, 2006, service on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
• A new terminal has been designed, and construction began in late Spring, 2011.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces by Air Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply depot.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 15,983 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,692 in 2009 and 14,686 in 2010.
• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".