Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,971 miles (or 9,609 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 Riverside Municipal Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air 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 Riverside Municipal Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air 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 Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL):

• The furthest airport from Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,462 miles (18,446 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• "FedEx Express donated a Boeing 727-200F to California Baptist University for its new aviation science program.
• Should there be plans to expand, the Airport's Master Plan supports lengthening runway 9/27 to 6,153 feet.
• The closest airport to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NE of RAL.
• Because of Riverside Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 818 feet, planes can take off or land at Riverside Municipal Airport 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.
• Riverside Municipal Airport, is four miles southwest of downtown Riverside, the county seat of Riverside County, California.
• Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) has 2 runways.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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".
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"