Nonstop flight route between Valenciennes, France and Salida, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS), Valenciennes, France and Harriet Alexander Field (SLT), Salida, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,959 miles (or 7,981 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Harriet Alexander 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport and Harriet Alexander 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 Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Valenciennes-Denain Airport", another name for XVS is "(Advanced Landing Ground A-83/B-74)".
• Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) currently has only 1 runway.
• After being used for a brief time as a storage depot for excess aircraft after the war ended by Air Technical Service Command, the Americans turned the airfield back over to French authorities on 25 June 1945.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Valenciennes-Denain Airport (XVS) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of XVS.
• After the construction of a military airfield at Denain, the airfield was reactivated by the Luftwaffe, stationing Jagdgeschwader 3, a day fighter-interceptor unit assigned to the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against the American Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in Occupied Europe and Germany.

Facts about Harriet Alexander Field (SLT):

• Because of Harriet Alexander Field's high elevation of 7,523 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Harriet Alexander Field", another name for SLT is "ANK".
• Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) is Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) W of SLT.
• Harriet Alexander Field is a public airport two miles west of Salida, in Chaffee County, Colorado.
• In the year ending April 20, 2006 the airport had 9,653 aircraft operations, 99.5% general aviation and 0.5% military.
• The furthest airport from Harriet Alexander Field (SLT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,993 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.