Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Valenciennes, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RIV to XVS:
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- About this route
- RIV Airport Information
- XVS Airport Information
- Facts about RIV
- Facts about XVS
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIV
- List of Nearest Airports to RIV
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIV
- List of Furthest Airports from RIV
- Map of Nearest Airports to XVS
- List of Nearest Airports to XVS
- Map of Furthest Airports from XVS
- List of Furthest Airports from XVS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,589 miles (or 8,995 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 March Air Reserve Base and Valenciennes-Denain 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 March Air Reserve Base and Valenciennes-Denain Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIV / KRIV |
Airport Name: | March Air Reserve Base |
Location: | Riverside, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°52'50"N by 117°15'33"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RIV |
More Information: | RIV Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XVS / LFAV |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Valenciennes, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°19'32"N by 3°27'39"E |
Elevation: | 177 feet (54 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XVS |
More Information: | XVS Maps & Info |
Facts about March Air Reserve Base (RIV):
- On 20 March 1918, Alessandro Flying Training Field became March Field, named in honor of Second Lieutenant Peyton C.
- On 1 May 1949, March became a part of the Strategic Air Command and the Fifteenth Air Force.
- On a lighter note, entertainer Bob Hope's first USO show was held at March on 6 May 1941.
- In the decade before World War II, March Field took on much of its current appearance and also began to gain prominence.
- The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
- March Field remained quiet for only a short time.
- The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Dragon Flight is a civilian formation flight demonstration team, based at March, sponsored by the March Field Aero Club.
Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):
- After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
- Denain Airport began as a pre-World War II airport in France, most likely with a grass runway and several support buildings and a hangar.
- Because of Valenciennes-Denain Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Valenciennes-Denain 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.
- The furthest airport from Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,987 miles (19,291 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
- The wartime air base is still evident with the 5500' concrete NE/SW runway remaining, complete with patched bomb craters and expansion joints allowing grass to grow between the concrete pads.
- Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
- In French control after the war, the airport sat abandoned for several years.
- The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
- After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.