Nonstop flight route between Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Valenciennes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,895 miles (or 7,878 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport and Valenciennes-Denain 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS):

• Because of Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport's high elevation of 6,765 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• United Airlines DC-3s landed at Rock Springs until 1952.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 25,541 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 19,458 in 2009 and 20,993 in 2010.
• The airport covers 1,242 acres at an elevation of 6,765 feet.
• The closest airport to Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Kemmerer Municipal Airport (EMM), which is located 79 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of RKS.
• The furthest airport from Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,864 miles (17,484 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• 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.
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• It is known that Denain was used by the Royal Air Force, as it was assigned ALG "B-74".
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• It appears that the Luftwaffe moved out of Denain in 1941 and the airfield was left unused.
• It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.