Nonstop flight route between Salina, Kansas, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salina Regional Airport (SLN), Salina, Kansas, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,978 miles (or 8,011 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 Salina 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 Salina 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 Salina Regional Airport (SLN):

• The closest airport to Salina Regional Airport (SLN) is Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) ENE of SLN.
• The airport was the takeoff and landing point for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, flown by Steve Fossett in the first nonstop, non-refueled solo circumnavigation of the earth from February 28 to March 3, 2005.
• Salina Regional Airport (SLN) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Salina Regional Airport (SLN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,701 miles (17,222 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Being just about the middle of the USA, many corporate and private jets stop here to fuel and allow passengers to, 'stretch their legs'.
• The airport is on the site of the former Schilling Air Force Base.
• Salina Regional Airport is the home of the Kansas State University - Salina flight department.

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

• 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.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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".
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• 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.
• 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.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"