Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Massachusetts, United States and Istres, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BED to QIE:
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- About this route
- BED Airport Information
- QIE Airport Information
- Facts about BED
- Facts about QIE
- Map of Nearest Airports to BED
- List of Nearest Airports to BED
- Map of Furthest Airports from BED
- List of Furthest Airports from BED
- Map of Nearest Airports to QIE
- List of Nearest Airports to QIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from QIE
- List of Furthest Airports from QIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,709 miles (or 5,969 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BED / KBED |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Bedford, Massachusetts, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°28'11"N by 71°17'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 132 feet (40 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BED |
More Information: | BED Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QIE / LFMI |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Istres, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°31'27"N by 4°56'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of France |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 162 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QIE |
More Information: | QIE Maps & Info |
Facts about Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):
- The field serves aircraft from Piper Cubs to Gulfstream V jets.
- In 2006, Neil Entwistle was flown from London to Hanscom by U.S.
- Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
- New England's oldest and largest flight school based at Hanscom along with their new facility at Lawrence Airport.
- On August 8, 1962, a US Air Force KC-135 tanker crashed on approach to Hanscom Field's runway 11, destroying the aircraft and killing all three members of the flight crew.
- Because of Laurence G. Hanscom Field's relatively low elevation of 132 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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.
- The closest airport to Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of BED.
- The furthest airport from Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,753 miles (18,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.