Nonstop flight route between Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Patrick Air Force Base (COF), Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,695 miles (or 7,556 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 Patrick Air Force Base 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 Patrick Air Force Base 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 Patrick Air Force Base (COF):

• The base is a census-designated place and had a resident population of 1,222 at the 2010 census.
• In addition to being known as "Patrick Air Force Base", another name for COF is "Patrick AFB".
• In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute was established at Patrick AFB.
• The closest airport to Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Merritt Island Airport (COI), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NNW of COF.
• The furthest airport from Patrick Air Force Base (COF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,550 miles (18,587 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• On May 17, 1950, the base was renamed the "Long Range Proving Ground Base" but three months later was renamed "Patrick Air Force Base", in honor of Major General Mason Patrick.

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

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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"