Nonstop flight route between Vannes, France and Glendale, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Meucon Airport (VNE), Vannes, France and Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF), Glendale, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,340 miles (or 8,594 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 Meucon Airport and Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field, 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 Meucon Airport and Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field. 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 Meucon Airport (VNE):

• Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France, Meucon airport was used as a Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation.
• Vannes-Meucon Airport is a regional airport in France.
• As the airport was in the rear area when repaired and opened, the Americans used it as a defensive field, stationing the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, flying P-61 Black Widows from 18 August though 11 September 1944 flying night air defense missions.
• The furthest airport from Meucon Airport (VNE) is Oamaru Airport (OAM), which is nearly antipodal to Meucon Airport (meaning Meucon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Oamaru Airport), and is located 12,086 miles (19,450 kilometers) away in Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Meucon Airport", another name for VNE is "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-33".
• Meucon Airport (VNE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Meucon Airport (VNE) is Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of VNE.
• Because of Meucon Airport's relatively low elevation of 440 feet, planes can take off or land at Meucon 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.

Facts about Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF):

• The furthest airport from Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Ground school, or classroom training for the advanced flying course, varied from about 100 to 130 hours and was intermingled with flight time in the aircraft.
• The closest airport to Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field (LUF) is Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) S of LUF.
• The host unit, the 56th Fighter Wing, is tasked to train F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers, while deploying mission ready warfighters.
• In addition to being known as "Luke Air Force BaseLuke Field", another name for LUF is "Luke AFB".
• Luke Air Force Base was named after Second Lieutenant Frank Luke.
• Although continually modified during the war years, the course of advanced flight training at Luke averaged about 10 weeks and included both flight training and ground school.
• On 25 May 1953 the 3600th Air Demonstration Team was officially organized and established at Luke, still officially carrying this designation, now known as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.