Nonstop flight route between Staunton / Waynesboro / Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD), Staunton / Waynesboro / Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,202 miles (or 6,763 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 Shenandoah Valley Regional 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 Shenandoah Valley Regional 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 Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD):

• In June 2013, Shenandoah Regional Airport received criticism when an inmate of the Virginia Department of Corrections escaped from a work program based there.
• Silver Airways operating as United Express operates Saab 340B turboprop aircraft from the airport.
• The airport, situated in Weyers Cave, Virginia, is operated by the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport Commission, which consists of members from the cities of Staunton, Waynesboro and Harrisonburg, and the counties of Augusta and Rockingham.
• The closest airport to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD) is Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport (CHO), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ESE of SHD.
• The furthest airport from Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,601 miles (18,670 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (SHD) currently has only 1 runway.

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

• Mirage 2000 "escadron Limousin"
• 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.
• 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.
• Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the Armée de l'air during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited air force of the Vichy Government.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the end of the war, the Americans used Istres as a staging point between Occupied Germany and Morocco for air transport of personnel back to the United States.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.