Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and Marysville, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VAF to BAB:
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- About this route
- VAF Airport Information
- BAB Airport Information
- Facts about VAF
- Facts about BAB
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAF
- List of Nearest Airports to VAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAF
- List of Furthest Airports from VAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to BAB
- List of Nearest Airports to BAB
- Map of Furthest Airports from BAB
- List of Furthest Airports from BAB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and Beale Air Force Base (BAB), Marysville, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,744 miles (or 9,243 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Beale Air Force 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and Beale Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAF / LFLU |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Valence, France |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'56"N by 4°58'6"E |
| Area Served: | Valence, Drôme, France |
| Operator/Owner: | Department of Drôme |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 525 feet (160 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VAF |
| More Information: | VAF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BAB / KBAB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Marysville, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°8'9"N by 121°26'11"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from BAB |
| More Information: | BAB Maps & Info |
Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):
- Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
- Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
- After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
- The airport's origin dates from the 1930s when the French Air Force established Valence-Chabeuil Air Base.
- In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
- The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
- The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
Facts about Beale Air Force Base (BAB):
- DC-18 was initially under the San Francisco Air Defense Sector, established on 15 February 1959.
- The 4126th SW was redesignated as the 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Fifteenth Air Force, 14th Strategic Aerospace Division.
- The closest airport to Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Yuba County Airport (MYV), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of BAB.
- Beale AFB was established in 1942 as Camp Beale and is named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale, an American Navy Lieutenant and a Brigadier General in the California Militia who was an explorer and frontiersman in California.
- In addition to being known as "Beale Air Force Base", another name for BAB is "Beale AFB".
- Camp Beale also housed a German POW camp, and served as the main camp for a series of satellite POW camps around northern California.
- The furthest airport from Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,251 miles (18,107 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
